


The Blazing Sun

by FlightFright



Series: Shore and Sky [3]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: And sea wolves!, Enjoy more gay cats, Gen, ShadeClan, TideClan, as requested, cat genetics and behavior, coming of age but with kitties, here is the sequel my dudes!, obligatory roadtrip story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2020-01-24 16:12:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 51,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18574987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlightFright/pseuds/FlightFright
Summary: Rabbitpaw, daughter of Shadestar and Hunter, is chosen for a great journey to the north to defeat a great evil. Desperate to prove herself worthy of her clan's respect, she gathers up two other cats and leaves the only home she's ever known. She doesn't know if she'll make it out alive, but she knows she has to try.Sunpaw is the outcast of TideClan. Nearly a warrior, she still faces her mother's scorn for not being the son she expected Sunpaw to be, and despite the efforts of her mentor and friends it feels like she'll never find happiness. So when a StarClan spirit tells her to go with two other cats on a quest, she leaves without hesitation. If she can't find a family in TideClan, perhaps the outside world will have more to offer her.Lola is a housecat and the eyes of the clans in the twoleg colony. When two apprentices come to her speaking of a faraway land and powerful enemies, she knows she can't leave two children to do it alone. Battling sickness and a troubled past, Lola can only hope she's strong enough to see her new friends home.





	1. Chapter 1

            In a starry realm unknown to most creatures, two cats resided by an ocean. A father and his daughter were engaged in a very serious conversation within this realm of sorts, although one of them seemed to be more worried about the issue than the other. This wasn’t uncommon, as the affairs of mortals was of varying levels of importance to different spirits, but it was frustrating to some.

            “The prophecy _will_ be completed, Father,” a tall black molly soothed, watching amusedly as the even bigger tom paced back and forth through the tide pools, reflecting spots of quicksilver from the glittering sky above. “I have faith in Eaglestar, and in all of TideClan. I understand your concerns-”

            “My concerns? For once in my afterlife, Stormstar, I am afraid. TideClan’s future rests on the shoulders of that young apprentice, and her _own mother_ scorns her. It would be all to easy for such a poor soul to succumb to whatever darkness she may have in her heart,” the old tom growled. Green eyes glowed with anger, nearly as bright as the stars shining above.

            “I have good judgement of character. That is why I accepted her into TideClan. Spikeclaw _will_ come to her senses,” Stormstar insisted. She rolled over to her stomach so she wasn’t viewing the heavens upside-down. The spirit was young, gut-wrenchingly so, a fact that never failed to make the other warrior’s heart twist in sadness.

             Fate was a cruel mistress, that Nightstar had accepted long ago. But that did not mean he had to like it.

             He came to a stop before his main pool of interest. Within its crystal-clear waters, he could see the form of a large, pale golden shape curled up in her nest. She would make an excellent warrior when she came of age, if she made it through the many obstacles Fate had tossed her way. Perhaps, if all went according to plan, she would even become clan leader many season cycles in the future. _Tidestar would love that,_ he mused.

             “What about the other girl? Shall I go speak with her as she dreams?” Stormstar asked, eagerness prickling off her pelt.

             Nightstar snorted at his headstrong daughter. “Your enthusiasm is admirable, my dear, but I’m afraid Sandstar will be the one talking to her. Sunmist requested it herself.”

             Sandstar had been the leader of TideClan before him, and was a very wise, if not fearsome queen. She had been his idol growing up, and once he had proved himself as good leadership material, an even better confidant. 

             “Ugghhhh.” Stormstar flopped back over in disappointment. _“Fine._ But I get dibs on whatever prophecy comes next!”

             Nightstar rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, you crazy child.”

<> 

            _“Acornpaw! Rabbitpaw! Newtpaw!”_

            The cheering of Rabbitpaw’s clanmates was the best sound she had ever heard. Shadestar and Hunter, her fathers, beamed down at her from the speaking ledge as they looked out over the camp and its inhabitants. She grinned back up at them, pride and joy filling up every hair of her being as the ceremony was brought to a close. As she was now six moons old, it was time for her to begin her training as a warrior of ShadeClan, something she had been looking forward to since she started talking. Well, more like she had _demanded_ to become an apprentice the moment she figured out how to string the words together. Hunter named her his eager little fighter. Shadestar liked to call her a brat.

            Uncle Puddlefoot’s kits watched her enviously from the protective shadow of their father as she went to greet Fernpelt, and she gave them an encouraging nod.

            _“You’ll be apprentices before you know it!”_ she told them before her and her siblings’ ceremonies. They were understandably bummed about not being included even though they were so close in age.

            _“Can you put in a good word for us with your dads?”_ Mousekit begged.

            _“Hey, what are friends for?”_

            Fernface’s pretty green eyes twinkled as she knocked her forehead to Rabbitpaw’s. “Ready to go, junior?”

            “Yeah! Can Acornpaw and Newtpaw come with us?” Rabbitpaw begged. “Acornpaw said Papa promised us we’d all see the territory together!”

            “Did he now?” Fernface snorted, and Rabbitpaw knew the older molly had caught her in the lie. Luckily, the dusty-colored tabby just rolled her eyes and called over to Mushroom and Cedarfur. “Boys! The princess requests a group tour of her lands.”

            “Yeah, she does,” Rabbitpaw said smugly as she pranced over to her brother and sister. Acornpaw cackled in triumph and held out a paw for her to bump. He was a short brown tabby with golden eyes, just like her, with a matching wiry build. They could pass for twins if she had a full tail instead of just the little nub on her butt. Newtpaw, on the other hand, was black as midnight with sparse tortoiseshell markings on her shoulders. She was resting on the ground to give her strong front legs a break from supporting most of her body weight.

            “You two are spoiled,” Newtpaw teased.

            “Hey, we never said we weren’t,” said Acornpaw. “Did Rainpaw and Bluemoon give you the all-clear for today?”

            The black molly scoffed. “Duh.”

            “Cool.”

            Cedarfur nodded to Shadestar and Hunter as they approached the six of them. Newtpaw squealed happily as Hunter bent down to lick her sleek head.

            “We’re very excited for the three of you,” Shadestar purred. Hazel eyes, the same as hers, glinted with pride.

            “Father, Papa, guess what? We’re going to be the _best,”_ Rabbitpaw boasted. She thought it was pretty obvious already, but she felt obligated to make a promise to her parents and mentor anyways.

            “Uh-huh,” Acornpaw agreed as he lifted his chin. “Out of _both_ the clans.”

            “ShadeClan forever! Hoo-ah!” Newtpaw yelled. With a blur of motion, she swung her crippled back legs out from underneath her and reared up to stand on her two front paws. The muscles in her shoulders rippled and she took off like a shot, making two warriors coming back from patrol jump back in terror at the unexpected sight of a kitten running around without the use of her hindquarters.

            “Wait up!” Rabbitpaw yelled, ignoring the laughing adults behind her as she sprinted after her sister. _“Newtpaw!_ We said we were gonna leave camp for the first time _together!”_

            After a moment of following her sister’s scent trail, she found Newtpaw. The little tortoiseshell was sitting back on her rear, gaping up at something, hazel eyes round.

            “Holy StarClan, you’re fast,” Rabbitpaw huffed, already a little out of breath. She looked down at Newtpaw, impressed. “You could outrun a coyote if you… what are you doing?”

            “It’s so _big,”_ she whispered.

            “What?” She looked up, expecting to see something weird, but all she saw was the lukewarm, snow-spotted forest around them. Little plants poked up through the wet dirt to greet the air above. Pine needles silhouetted sharply against the thin rays of the crescent moon. Out in the distance, owls called to one another in a conversation Rabbitpaw could not make sense of.

            “The world.” Newtpaw stared at the stars in the late night sky. “I guess I didn’t get how different everything would look from outside the camp. It’s _huge.”_

            “Yeah, I guess it is really big. It’s cool, though,” Rabbitpaw agreed.

            The vibrations of footsteps made her paw pads tingle. She turned to see Acornpaw, Mushroom, Fernface, and Cedarfur trotting towards them.

            “Don’t spend all of your energy at once! Our territory is pretty big,” Fernface warned.

            “Sorry,” Rabbitpaw said, sheepish. Her embarrassment from acting like a half-moon old kit soon faded, however, when Fernface flicked her tail in an order to follow. With the older molly in the lead, Rabbitpaw stared in awe at the familiar-yet-strange land around her.

            “The eagle nest is over there; you can tell from the pellets at the base of the tree. Flesh-eating birds barf ‘em up because they don’t digest the bones and pelt,” Mushroom, Newtpaw’s mentor, explained. “They don’t eat like we do. They just kinda wolf the whole thing down in one gulp.”

            “I wanna try that! Maybe I can make a pellet,” Acornpaw wondered.

            Newtpaw paused in her two-legged gait to smack him. “Don’t you dare! Cats don’t have the stomachs for that!”

            “Okay, but what if I start practicing-”

            Cedarfur looked to the heavens, as if he was asking the gods for answers. Tuning out her squabbling siblings, Rabbitpaw focused on the forest around her to try and glean as much information from it as she could. There was the buzzing of early-spring insects, croaking frogs and toads seeking each other out, heady-fresh-soil air filling her lungs with every breath she took. All of it made her fur prickle excitedly.

            A quiet rustle of brush made the patrol look behind to see the white behind of a hare disappearing into the night.

            “I got it!” Rabbitpaw yowled, instincts chasing out everything else in her head. In the space of a heartbeat she was surging forward like a cat possessed. If she could catch her first prey on her first night out as an apprentice, Father would _have_ to make her a warrior soon!

            “Wait, no! Hares can be dangerous, _Rabbitpaw-!”_

            Fernface’s frantic cries faded away into the night, only encouraging her to a full sprint through the undergrowth. She could do this; she was a _cat,_ the mightiest hunting animal to ever exist, and this hare was _not_ getting away from her.

            The faint thudding of the prey-critter’s paws over the forest floor, coupled with the dead foliage it kept kicking up made it easy for her to track. Its warm scent filled her nose and tickled the back of her throat. She wondered how it would taste once she caught it, as she had only ever eaten smaller rodents like mice and squirrels; hare meat was tougher to chew.

            Over a fallen log, through a thicket, under a buckled-up tree root, around pines and hemlocks and cedars. Her breath began to come faster as exertion took its toll, but Rabbitpaw was steadily gaining on her target.

            The hare led her past a break in the dense forest. The foliage opened up underneath the starry sky, the faintest gray glow in the east betraying the coming day. Now that she had a better view of her surroundings, she pushed herself into a full sprint and bore down on the hare, ignoring the desperate protests of her still kit-soft muscles.

            It dodged as she swung a paw at it, claws unsheathed as far as they would go. Momentarily shocked by how agile the hare was, she was a little late on turning to match its course. Excitement turned to frustration. With a growl of anger, she pumped her legs to get herself going back to her previous speed, the fire in her chest only adding to her determination.

            _Maybe if I aim for where it’s going instead of where it is…_

            It was most likely out of dumb luck that Rabbitpaw managed to hook her claws into one of the hare’s back legs as it made another turn. It squealed in shock, just as surprised as she was that she actually managed to get a grip on it, and then she was tumbling head-over-tail through the gorse and hanging on for dear life.

            In the space of just a few heartbeats, Rabbitpaw realized what a terrible idea it had been to chase after this hare. It was easily as big as she was, if not bigger, and fueled by the innate need to stay alive. Screeching, it scrabbled at the dirt to put some space between them, dragging her along with it.

            She released her hold on it a little too late. The last thing she saw was two powerful hind legs coming straight for her face before the world went black.

<> 

            The moment she opened her eyes, Rabbitpaw knew something was wrong.

            Instead of a meadow she was on a beach, icy water lapping at her paws like it was trying to push her up to the dry sand. Trembling, she crept forward, taking in the starry sky above that glowed with colors she had never seen before. Behind her was the biggest expanse of water that had to have ever existed, so big she refused to look at it in case it decided to swallow her.

            Rabbitpaw took three more steps before she realized she wasn’t alone.

            The long-furred tabby blinked at her from on top of a boulder seated firmly in the sand. The bigger cat was a queen, upon taking in her scent, and would have been a senior warrior had she been in ShadeClan.

            “Welcome, Rabbitpaw,” the queen said nonchalantly. “I was hoping I’d get the chance to speak with you soon.”

            “Who are you?” Rabbitpaw spluttered.

            “My name is Sandstar, former leader of TideClan. Come, sit with me.”

            Feeling like she was having an out-of-body experience, Rabbitpaw obeyed and scrambled up the mist-wet boulder to sit next to Sandstar.

            “Do you know where you are?”

            The question startled her. “I… this is StarClan, right? Am I dead?”

            Sandstar huffed in amusement. “No, my dear, although I wouldn’t try hunting any more hares until you put on more weight. But you are in StarClan until you come to. I come bringing a message for your clan.”

            Rabbitpaw sat up straighter, gut clenching in excitement. Had she been chosen for something special? _Rainpaw is going to be so jealous!_

            “You and two others will journey north, to the mountains and then to the sea,” Sandstar said carefully, as if she was reciting something important. “Something has broken free from a most unholy place. It will be up to the three of you to return it home.”

            “Something… what? Where do I have to go up north?” Rabbitpaw demanded, excitement quickly washed away by confusion and a growing sense of dead.

            “You will know when you get there. A very important group of people will be waiting for you,” Sandstar assured her. Even as she spoke, the stars began to dim all around them.

            “Wait, Sandstar! Who do I-!”

            She was cut off by water surging forth from the too-big lake behind them, sweeping her off the boulder and into a churning mess of darkness.        

<> 

            Waking up was a weird process.

            The sun was now just above the horizon, spilling its reds and pinks and golds across the heavens for the world below to enjoy. It was one of the most beautiful things Rabbitpaw had ever seen. She would have been able to enjoy it if she didn’t feel like she had been thrown across the entire coast by a pack of coyotes, but sadly, that was not the case.

            For a bit, she didn’t know how she got there, or even what had happened, but as soon as she did a long, low groan escaped her throat.

            She was gonna be in _so_ much trouble.

            Slowly, Rabbitpaw rolled over to get her front legs underneath her body. When she succeeded in pushing herself fully upright, like how her sister Newtpaw did when she was resting, she did the same with her back legs. Realizing she wasn’t seriously injured, Rabbitpaw got to all fours with a sigh of relief. Her neck had definitely been jerked by the force of the hare’s blow and she was covered in bruises, but hey.

            _Journey to the north…_

            Her dream came back to her in full force, and she crouched close to the ground in terror. What in all of the gods had Sandstar meant? Did it mean anything at all?

            The cool morning air caught up to her still waking body, and she began shivering.

            The dark outline of the pine woods loomed over the meadow at the break’s edge. Dawn turned the brown bark to gold and lit up the shadowy spaces on the forest floor. She would have to navigate her way back to the trail she and the others had taken, and then try and get back to the camp from there. If that didn’t work she would just have to wait for a patrol to come find her.

            When she got back, she would talk to Bluemoon and Rainpaw about her dream. They would know what to do. She forced the strange vision from her mind and started walking.

            Feeling a bit more confident, Rabbitpaw headed for the pines. Out in the distance, she saw a pair of eagles soaring together, white heads and tails glinting brilliantly in the morning sunlight. A nervous tingle urged her to pick up the pace a little. If she hadn’t woken up when she did, she could have risked getting spotted by them and eaten. Shadestar told her numerous times that a bird of prey would rather eat a smaller critter than a cat, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

            She only let herself relax once she was fully in the shelter of the forest. It was colder than out in the meadow, but she couldn’t bring herself to mind.

            _Alright, how am I gonna do this?_

            Everything looked so much _different_ than it did in the nighttime. Shadows were stark against the ground, thrown into harsh contrast by the sun. The scents of different creatures were overlaid with the soil-peat-smell permeating the air as it was warmed up. Noisy songbirds chattered away in the branches above her, as if they were gossiping about the lost young molly all alone in the morning.

            Overwhelmed, Rabbitpaw chose a direction that looked like it would take her closest to camp and started walking.

            Every little sound made her jump, as she knew nothing of the animals that made their living during the daytime besides the birds and deer. As the dawn turned to true morning, she came across a herd of them grazing on the little shoots that had begun to bloom through the leaves. Most of the does’ bellies were swollen from pregnancy. She wondered if they ever broke their skinny little legs from the weight.

            Rabbitpaw kept going until the sun was close to its highest point in the sky. By then, the smell of the forest had changed, gradually turning from soil-leaf scent to salty. It became chilly again, as if the shadows had more power the farther she traveled.

            With a jolt of terror, the tabby realized that she had never smelled something like that before because she was no longer in ShadeClan territory. She started to sniffle, looking around hopelessly as if her parents would come running from the undergrowth and bring her home.

            _This was such a mistake. I just want to go home!_

            Rabbitpaw squeezed her eyes shut and prayed to Aquilo, Shadestar’s favored god of wanderers and travel. If anybody could help her, it would be him, right?

            She waited for several long moments, crouched pathetically in the cover of a bush she had no name for. Just as she was about to give up and start crying, a strong wind blew over her with enough strength to nearly topple her over. It pushed her towards the scent of salt and open air.

            “Is that where you want me to go?” she asked hopefully. There was no answer, of course, but Rabbitpaw summoned enough courage to get back up and follow the wind.

            The forest lightened as she pushed on. Her paws were beginning to ache, unused to so much exercise, not to mention the sound thrashing she had received from that blasted hare. A low whine emanated from her gut, reminding her that the last time she ate was early the night before. She just hoped Aquilo had decided to take pity on her.

            Rabbitpaw rounded some thicket and gasped.

            Before her was the largest body of water she had ever seen. It stretched on and on until it met the horizon in a perfect line, where she had no doubt that the world came to an end. It wasn’t clear like the stream that ran through her camp, or pretty and calm like the pond towards the marshlands. It roiled and churned before coming together in waves that crashed into the cliffs with reckless abandon. The water itself was _alive,_ fueled by some force she could not understand.

            “Wow,” she breathed.

            The snap of a twig behind her instantly made her regret being consumed by the breathtaking sight.

            She nearly jumped out of her pelt and turned to face the largest cat she had ever seen.

 


	2. Chapter 2

            A scream built in her throat as she took in the stranger’s features in less than a heartbeat. Adult male, younger than her parents but much bigger. His muzzle was broad and had a scar up its right side. Pale ginger fur spiked up in a mane around his throat, thick from winter and good health.

            “Wow, somebody got lost,” the big cat joked.

            “Stay back!” Rabbitpaw squealed. “My Father said if any strange cats try and talk to me I get to claw their eyes out!”

            “Your Father sounds like a smart cat,” he said soothingly. “But you’re obviously from ShadeClan, and I can’t help you if I can’t talk with you.”

            “H-How do you know I’m from ShadeClan?” she demanded.

            “There’s only one molly with a bobbed tail like yours that I know of, and that’s Rabbitpaw, daughter of Shadestar and Hunter. And I’m Softstep, warrior of TideClan.”

            _TideClan!_ Of course! This never-ending expanse of water was the ocean. Somehow, she had stumbled right into the heart of the other clan’s territory. Aquilo had spared her his kindness after all!

            But that didn’t make her trust the tom any more. “How do I know I can trust you?”

            Softstep dipped his brightly colored head in understanding. “If you want, I can go get one of our queens to bring you back to camp. You’re dehydrated and hungry.”

            _Like a kitten? Newtpaw and Acornpaw will laugh at me for the next three moons._

            “I’ll just follow you. But I’m watching you, mister!” she snapped.

            Unfortunately, the TideClan warrior looked more amused than intimidated despite her best efforts. With a friendly wave of his tail, Softstep pranced off alongside the trees.

            One of his back legs was crippled, she soon realized, which was probably the only reason why she was able to keep up with him. Despite his limp, Softstep expertly navigated the cliff’s edge, bushy tail swinging to and fro to keep his balance.

            She tried to stay quiet; he was still a stranger, after all, but eventually there was too many questions for her to contain.

            “How do you not drown in the ocean?” she asked.

            Softstep laughed. “Lots of practice. You let the water do most of the work, and then the rest is just remembering to come up for air.”

            “Oh.” Rabbitpaw considered that. “Isn’t it cold?”

            “It’s very cold. You get used to it, though.”

            “Is it true you all live in a cave, then?”

            “We do. That’s where we’re going.”

            “Is it cold in there?”

            “Only in the mornings. In the evening, the sun comes through and warms it up for the night. It’s really nice.”

            Before she knew it, they were heading towards a trail that led down the cliff. The path was well-worn by many sets of paws, and the rock she pressed close against in fear of falling off smelled heavily of cat. Tufts of fur clung to it and fluttered in the breeze.

            Softstep, on the other paw, had no such worries. With a shout of greeting, he slid the rest of the way down to the outcropping of rock at the end. Rabbitpaw nearly fell right there and then when an even _bigger_ cat ran up to greet him. They bumped foreheads, letting her know that they were friends.

            This warrior was a tom as well, and looked about the same age as Softstep. That’s where the similarities ended, however, as this huge dark tabby looked like he could crush her skull beneath one of his paws like an eggshell. Muscle rippled powerfully beneath his fur, but he was also plump, his fierce-looking muzzle softened by a bit of extra weight.

            He gasped when he saw her. “Softstep, where did you find her?”

            “Just a bit down the shore. Scared the living daylights right out of her!” Softstep snickered, punching Rabbitpaw’s shoulder.

            “You didn’t scare me!” Rabbitpaw protested feebly, but she kept her eyes on the big dark tabby. She had no idea cats could even _grow_ to that size.

            He blinked kindly at her before crouching down to her height. “Hello, Rabbitpaw. It’s wonderful to see you again, even though I doubt you remember me.” The tom’s voice was surprisingly soft, like the ocean breeze over moss.

            She swallowed back the dryness in her throat. “We’ve met?”

            “We did. I was there when you were born.”

            A memory flashed through her head, a chilly night in late winter curled up at Shadestar’s belly as he told her and her siblings the story of their birth. It was because of the kindness of TideClan’s leader that Newtpaw was even alive, he told them. Barely more than acquaintances, the tabby tom had stayed with Shadestar in that dead tree to protect him and his kits.

            “You’re _Eaglestar,”_ she realized, awe filling up every hair on her pelt. “You helped my Father give birth to me and my brother and sister!”

            He beamed down at her. “I didn’t do much, dear, I just stood guard for Shadestar and helped out with Newtkit’s delivery.”

            A swell of rowdy yelling broke off their conversation. Rabbitpaw looked behind Eaglestar to see a band of TideClan cats come tumbling up another trail that she guessed led down to the beach. Each of them were long-haired and muscular, even the two short black mollies with them, with a strikingly beautiful tortoiseshell in the lead.

            “Uncle Eaglestar!” she yowled, sprinting full force into the clan leader’s side. Rabbitpaw’s jaw dropped at the display, Shadestar would have her run laps for doing anything like that. “Hey, Papa! How’s the search- oh hey! You found her!”

            Before she could so much as take another breath she was surrounded by cats twice her size sniffing at her curiously. Rabbitpaw squeaked in fear.

            “Spottedpaw! Alright, you rascals, give the poor girl some space. She’s had a long night,” Eaglestar ordered, shooing aside his niece and a stocky tabby tom.

            “The search?” Rabbitpaw asked, confused.

            “Yep. Your Daddy swung by earlier and said you went missing. Eaglestar sent out a couple of patrols to help find you,” one of the short black mollies explained flippantly. Upon closer inspection, she wasn’t completely black, but instead a smoky tortoiseshell.

            Rabbitpaw’s stomach sunk to her paws. “Oh, no.”

            “Oh, yeah,” Spottedpaw said, wincing in sympathy.

            Eaglestar flicked his tail against Spottedpaw’s dappled flank. “You and the others can get her water and something to eat. I’m going to go recall the search parties and get Shadestar.”

            “Yessir!”

            “Thank you, Spottedpaw.” With a warm purr, Eaglestar bent down to touch his nose to Rabbitpaw’s, who had to strain her neck up to return the gesture. “Everything will be fine, dear. Make yourself at home until we return.”

            “Okay,” she said.

            The clan leader and Softstep trotted off to the cliff path and headed up. Rabbitpaw watched them go, wishing she could talk to Eaglestar some more, but then a nudge at her side made her look back up.

            Spottedpaw hummed thoughtfully. “Come on, let’s go to the spring. Nightpaw, go get her something to eat.”

            “You can’t tell me what to do!” a black molly with a splash of white on her chest argued, tail puffing up in anger.

            “Yeah I can. I’m gonna count to three. Onnnnee, twwwwooo…”

            “You’re a spoiled brat!” Nightpaw screeched, and then took off to the beach.

            Rabbitpaw giggled, impressed by the tortoiseshell’s bossiness. “Can you teach me how to do that?”

            “Spots, don’t be a bad influence,” a russet torbie sighed.

            Spottedpaw scoffed and shoved the torbie’s shoulder. “Ugh, what _ever.”_

The spring Rabbitpaw had been promised was down on the beach, flowing out from the cliff to the sea. It was icy cold and probably the best water she had ever drank.

She stopped only when Spottedpaw looked satisfied. “Okay, how about we all go around and introduced ourselves? I’m Spottedpaw, as you know.”

            “Dawnpaw. I’m Spottedpaw’s sister,” the torbie said sweetly.

            “Hi,” Rabbitpaw chirped, head still numb from brain-freeze.

            “I’m Pinepaw, the best hunter,” a ginger tom proclaimed. “I’m Dawnpaw’s and Spottedpaw’s brother.”

            “This doofus is a bit mistaken, because _I_ am obviously the best hunter,” one of the short black mollies from before announced, giving Rabbitpaw a fang-filled grin. “And fighter. The name’s Batpaw.”

            “Beetlepaw. I’m Batpaw’s sister,” the smoky tortoiseshell yawned.

            “Smokepaw. Nightpaw’s my sister and she’s the one out in the ocean,” another black molly said, with the same splash of white on her chest as her twin.

            “Briarpaw!” The stocky tabby tom all but yelled. “Hi!”

            Rabbitpaw jumped in surprise. “Hello!”

            Smokepaw laughed. “Briarpaw, she can hear you with your normal voice.”

            The tabby tom nodded in short, jerky movements. “Yeah! Sorry. I have a developmental disa… disa…”

            “Disablity,” Smokepaw finished.

            “Disability,” Briarpaw echoed.

            “Nice job!”

            The last apprentice in the group was the biggest, taller than Spottedpaw and Pinepaw, and a pale ginger color like a misty morning in the forest. “Sunpaw. I’m Beetlepaw’s and Batpaw’s… sister.”

            There was a beat of tense silence.

            “Hello,” Rabbitpaw said dumbly, trying hard to not stare too much at the molly’s broad shoulders and piercing amber eyes. A strange fluttering in her chest made it hard for her to pull her thoughts together.

            “Anyways, good luck keeping all of that straight,” Spottedpaw announced, breaking the weird silence that Sunpaw seemed to have inadvertently produced.

            Rabbitpaw blinked, head still spinning. “How does TideClan have so many apprentices? You all can’t be more than a moon or so apart in age.”

            Spottedpaw and Batpaw looked at each other before breaking off into laughter.

            Unfortunately, that was the moment Nightpaw returned, a fish nearly the size of Rabbitpaw clenched tightly between her jaws. “Mmph, here ya go.”

            “Nice catch,” Dawnpaw offered.

            “Eh. Mama once caught a baby shark,” Nightpaw said with a shrug.

            Rabbitpaw didn’t know what a shark was, but she was hungry enough to approach the fish and start tearing off a small piece to start with. Nightpaw, Briarpaw, and Smokepaw joined her while the others flopped down to enjoy the sunshine.

            The fish meat was unlike anything she’d ever tasted, but it was surprisingly good. A bit oily, but judging by the sleekness of the TideClan cats’ pelts it was definitely good for her. The bones were thicker and easier to work around than a forest critter’s was.

            “Good, huh? Eat enough of ‘em and you’ll never worry about getting wet during a rainstorm again,” Batpaw bragged. “The water will just roll right off you.”

            “But I thought TideClan cats liked getting wet?”

            “We like _swimming,_ not rainstorms. Rain just gets everywhere and makes the forest all gross and damp.”

            “You just like to complain,” Briarpaw teased.

            “Says the cat who threw a hissy fit the first time he got sand between his toes.”

            Briarpaw groaned and slapped at her. “Sensory overload. Kiss my ass.”

            “Catch me an evening meal first. Then we’ll talk.” Batpaw winked at him, and Briarpaw burst out laughing.

            Rabbitpaw joined in, wishing she could have a fun group of friends in ShadeClan like this one. Littlefang and Skyflower, the youngest warriors of her clan, had graduated not a quarter moon before she and her siblings became apprentices. Littlefang was a prick and Skyflower had been eyeballing the nursery the moment she became a warrior, so it wasn’t like she could try and fit in with them.

            Spottedpaw flicked Rabbitpaw’s back with her tail. “Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

            “Uh…” Rabbitpaw decided to not tell them she’d been thinking about how she had basically no friends back home. That wasn’t very cool. “You guys are going to be warriors soon, huh? What do you think your names are gonna be?”

            “I’m gonna be Batclaw! After Mom, and because I’m a great fighter!” Batpaw yelled.

            “I want to be Dawncloud,” said Dawnpaw. “Uncle Eaglestar said nice cats can be named after clouds.”

            Beetlepaw shrugged and punched Sunpaw’s shoulder. “This one’s gonna be called Sun-doesn’t-speak, ‘cause she never talks.”

            Sunpaw grunted in annoyance. “You’ll be named Beetlebuzz, because that’s what everyone hears every time you open your mouth.”

            “Hmph!”

            Once again, Rabbitpaw felt her eyes being drawn to the huge golden molly. Why was she so emotionally removed from the rest of the apprentices? Even the developmentally delayed Briarpaw was totally involved with the rest of his friends.

            Amber eyes flicked over to hers, almost distasteful, and she felt her ears heat up as she quickly looked away.

            A friendly yell from up the cliff had everybody turning to see who it was. Coming down the path from the cave was a band of warriors, large and dripping wet and smelling like salt.

            “What are you lazy-asses doing, lounging around like pregnant queens?” one tom snapped before knocking over Batpaw. Rabbitpaw stiffened, thinking for a horrible moment that he was actually going to attack them, but Batpaw just bounced back up with a cackle and plowed right back into the tom’s flank. The pair started wrestling in the sand, kicking the stuff up everywhere and sending Nightpaw and Briarpaw scrambling away from the mess.

            “You calling queens lazy?” a flame-ginger molly scoffed. “See if I let you anywhere near me once we go into heat.”

            “Fireflower, there are _children!”_ a blue-gray tom wailed.

            The queen named Fireflower landed her gaze on Rabbitpaw, and her eyes brightened in delight. “Welcome to TideClan, dear! Please ignore everything I just said.”

            “Um… okay?”

            Batpaw got a mouthful of sand and started screeching and spitting the sand out on the tom who was now trying to sit on her.

            Fireflower shoved him off the small apprentice. “Otterscratch, quit acting like a three-moon old kit.”

            “Just because I’m deputy doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to have fun!” Otterscratch scoffed. He relented to Fireflower’s demand, though, and let Batpaw up.

            “True,” Fireflower admitted, puffing out her chest in pride. To Rabbitpaw, she said, “Otterscratch here is my son, as well as the youngest TideClan deputy anybody can remember.”

            “Cool!”

            Much to her surprise, Sunpaw trotted over to Otterscratch and touched noses. The two began talking quietly, as if they shared some big secret between them, but whatever elusive conversation they were having became overwhelmed by the sound of even more cats up at the cliff-cave.

            Spottedpaw jumped to her feet. “Come on! You can meet everybody else now.”

<> 

            Despite being welcomed as a favored guest into TideClan, Rabbitpaw was pretty sure she would never get the hang of remembering so many names. There were the elders, Stone-eye, Eggfur, Thistlefeather, and the truly ancient Blossompelt, who according to Spottedpaw had been alive for several leaders before Eaglestar. She was then taken to meet the queen Snowsky, whose son Ivykit would be made an apprentice tomorrow.

            “How come you don’t have a tail?” was the first thing out of the little tom’s mouth, much to Snowsky’s obvious mortification, but Rabbitpaw found him funny.

            “I lost it in a fight with a wolf,” she whispered to him. “We painted the forest red with our blood.”

            Ivykit’s jaw dropped.

            The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out with the other apprentices. They played tag and hide-and-seek in the rough scrub on the beach, and Rabbitpaw even tried to fish crabs out of the tide pools. That only resulted in a pinched toe and Batpaw laughing herself hoarse, and Rabbitpaw resolved to never go near water again. Caught up in all of the excitement as she was, Rabbitpaw almost forgot _why_ she was with TideClan.

            That is, until a sharp call from up the cliff had her freeze in surprise.

            Spottedpaw and Nightpaw froze in their game of toss-the-clam. Beetlepaw stopped cleaning out the spaces between her toes, and Pinepaw looked up to the cave.

            “They’re here,” he muttered.

            All at once, the fun mood drained out of the air like the water from the tide pools just did. Reluctantly, Rabbitpaw got to her feet, looking around at the TideClan apprentices. They looked almost apologetic, as if they knew of the tongue-lashing she would no doubt receive from her parents.

            Her stomach twisted with anxiety, and quickly became overshadowed by shame. She had promised Shadestar and Hunter she would be the best. Then, she took off after a hare with all the confidence of a seasoned warrior and nearly gotten herself killed.

            “They’ll be happy to see you alive,” Dawnpaw promised, walking beside Rabbitpaw as they all hiked up to the cave.

            As it turned out, Dawnpaw was right. The moment she crested the cliff trail, Hunter and Shadestar’s eyes were on her.

            She bounded over to them, excited, before being nosed harshly by Hunter as he covered her with frantic licks.

            “Hi, Papa- ow! Geez, I’m fine!” she protested, trying with no avail to escape.

            “Are you hurt?” he demanded, sniffing her all over.

            Rabbitpaw winced. “I got kicked by the hare.”

_"Rabbitpaw!”_

            Finally, she tore her eyes away from Hunter to Shadestar, who hadn’t said anything to her yet. She couldn’t tell what her father- no, her _mother_ was thinking. The tortoiseshell was definitely a queen now; Rabbitpaw could just tell.

            “You are in _so_ much trouble,” Shadestar hissed.

            Rabbitpaw resisted the urge to go crawl in a hole somewhere and die. She looked hopefully to Hunter, but the bigger tabby was already drawing away from her, anger replacing the relief in his eyes.

            There were sounds of paws against rock behind her. “Is she fit to travel home, Shadestar? I wish Bluemoon had been here to have a look at her, but he won’t be back from the twoleg colony until tomorrow.”

             “No need, Eaglestar, you’ve done _more_ than enough,” Shadestar said, her tone softening. “Thank you for taking care of my daughter.”

             “Your kittens are as good as mine,” Eaglestar assured her. From the shadows of the cave, Rabbitpaw saw the apprentices watching her and she looked away in embarrassment. Hopefully by the Full Moon, when the two clans would meet and celebrate together, all of this will have been forgotten.

             Shadestar’s tail tapped her back. “Come. We’re going home.”

             “Can I say goodbye to my friends?”

             Her mother didn’t so much as look at her. Rabbitpaw swallowed nervously as she trailed after Hunter, feeling very, very small.

             “No.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

            Rabbitpaw didn’t dare say another word the entire trip back to camp. The anger rolling off her parents in waves was enough to send ice water to her belly, but when she turned to Hunter for anything remotely resembling comfort all she received was a stern glare.

            For the first time in her life, Rabbitpaw felt very, very alone.

            It only began to sink in how much trouble she was in the moment Shadestar led the way down to the hollow. The entire clan was gathered in the center, milling about and talking amongst themselves. When they spotted her and her parents, she heard several grunts of relief and annoyance. Beauty, the black-furred elder, muttered something to Duskheart, her sister. Judging by her flattened ears, Rabbitpaw could guess it wasn’t anything pleasant.

            Shadestar didn’t even bother to say hello to anybody. “All old enough to fight, please divert your attention to the ledge!”

            “Oh, _no,”_ Rabbitpaw muttered, crouching as low as she could. She was aware of Acornpaw and Newtpaw galloping up to stand beside her, but the familiar smell of her siblings did nothing to alleviate her rising horror at the situation.

            “Last night, somebody decided they were skilled enough to take after a hare and nearly got themselves _killed,”_ her mother yowled, loud enough for the entire hollow to hear. “If it wasn’t for TideClan she might not have made it through the day! Rabbitpaw, what have you to say for yourself?”

            She automatically opened her mouth to respond, but all that came out was a squeak of fear. Somewhere in the crowd, she heard Littlefang start snickering.

            After a painful moment of silence, Newtpaw spoke up. “Mother, I think that this-”

            _“Psst!”_ Shadestar hissed. Newtpaw winced but dutifully fell silent.

            Her sister’s bravery gave her the nerve to finally speak. “I-I’m sorry.”

            “Speak up!”

            “I’m s-sorry, Shadestar!” Rabbitpaw blurted, hoping to the gods and StarClan that the earth would hurry up already and just swallow her whole.

            “I-I-I’m s-sor-ry,” she heard Skyflower mimic peevishly somewhere behind her. Littlefang and a couple of his friends started laughing.

            Acornpaw turned to growl at the crowd, but that just made a couple of the older warriors snort in amusement.

            Wishing the hare had done her in after all, Rabbitpaw stared up at her mother, silently pleading for her to make the others stop mocking her, but Shadestar just flicked her tail indifferently. “Since my daughter here insists on acting like a kitten, she’ll just have to live as one for another moon. Hopefully that will be enough to knock some sense into her. Rabbitpaw, you’ll be back in the nursery until the moon is three-quarters full once more. Understood?”

            “But Mother-!” she cried, horrified, but Shadestar just leapt down from the ledge, signaling the end of the meeting. Rabbitpaw scrambled over to her as fast as she could before the clan leader could go back to her den.

            “Mother, please, this isn’t _fair!_ I just wanted to show you I can be the best!” she begged. Humiliation threatened to dissolve her from the inside out, but she forced herself to look into Shadestar’s cold hazel eyes. Without Rabbitpaw, ShadeClan would be down an apprentice, leaving just Acornpaw and Newtpaw. Surely, she would _have_ to see reason.

            “You’ve embarrassed me and your father beyond belief, that’s what you did. An apprentice with more than one pawful of brains would have waited until they actually knew how to hunt!” Shadestar snapped. “I am extremely disappointed in you. Nursery, _now.”_

            Stunned, Rabbitpaw stared up at the clan leader for another heartbeat. When there was no change in the anger bristling along those dark hackles, she took off running for the nursery and dove in.

            Mousekit and Mistkit were already waiting for her, wide-eyed and sympathetic, but she couldn’t bear to so much as look at them. The brothers had looked up to her, and she had failed them and Uncle Puddlefoot.

            A comforting scent washed over her just as she thought that, and she felt a tongue rasping over her ears as she was nudged towards the nest.

            She almost snapped at Puddlefoot to leave her alone, it was bad enough that Shadestar was treating her like a kit already. Unfortunately, the moment her body hit the soft moss and down-feathers, the anger washed right out of her, only to be replaced by exhaustion. When was the last time she’d rested?

            “Go to sleep, Rabbitpaw. Everything will be a little better in the evening,” she heard Puddlefoot murmur.

            Rabbitpaw collapsed against the gray tom’s flank and passed out.

<> 

            There were no more starry spirits to speak to her as she slept. Rabbitpaw dreamed, but her mind would not deliver any peaceful visions of chasing prey through the forest or playing with her brother and sister.

            Something was just behind her, snapping ferociously at her hindquarters no matter how swift she ran. The trees she breezed by became darker and taller, with leering faces that cackled down at her, but there was nothing feline about them, nothing that Rabbitpaw could have ever even imagined before. Something told her they weren’t supposed to be in the same world as mortal creatures. They just weren’t _right._

            Some great beast Rabbitpaw knew no name for howled in the distance, deep and beautiful and terrible. A vine caught her paw as she was distracted and she went sprawling, ears over tail into a thorn bush that wrapped its barbed limbs around her before she could even try to escape.

            The monsters that were in the trees descended upon her, black fangs bared greedily to rip her to pieces. Rabbitpaw screamed for her mother and father.

Around her, the thorns and monsters laughed.

<> 

            “-paw? _Rabbitpaw!_ Wake up!”

            Rabbitpaw scrambled back to consciousness with all the grace of a three-legged squirrel. Beside her, Mousekit and Mistkit stared at her with slack jaws.

            Her chest was burning, and she realized she had forgotten to breathe. She let go of the air in her lungs in one big _whoosh._ When her eyes finally came back into focus, the tabby realized she was blinking at a smooth gray shoulder.

            Puddlefoot was staring down at her in concern when she looked up. “You okay, short-stack? That was a lot of screeching coming from somebody so tiny.”

            Rabbitpaw tried to answer, but her mouth and throat were so dry that all that came out was a croak. She swallowed and tried again. “… Yeah. Just a nightmare.”

            “You want to talk about it?”

            She thought about it, and then shook her head. “It was just a lot of nonsense.”

            The tabby king didn’t look convinced but didn’t say anything else about it. Mousekit and Mistkit were already falling back asleep. Rabbitpaw rested her head on Puddlefoot’s belly and watched them, wondering when they would be made apprentices. The two brothers were small, like their father, which Rabbitpaw assumed was why they hadn’t graduated already. There had been three others, another brother and two sisters, but they hadn’t been strong enough to make it.

            Then she remembered the events of the previous day, and why she was snuggled up against Puddlefoot like she was two moons old again.

            The sadness and embarrassment hit her at full force all over again.

            She thought about going back to sleep, but when she glanced outside, she could see the last purples of the sunset beginning to fade from the sky. Everybody would be getting up soon to begin the night.

            With a grunt, she stood and stretched. Her shoulder was still a little sore, but it was better than yesterday. That had to count for something, right?

            Upon exiting the nursery, she saw the first patrol of the night already heading up to the forest. She watched them enviously, wishing she could do something useful like that, but before she could start planning out a way to not be useless to the clan a hard force knocked her aside like a misbehaving kit.

            Littlefang’s toothy grin greeted her from above. “Hey hey, if it isn’t Rabbitkit!”

            A hot flash of anger had her claws in motion before her brain could catch up. The catch of skin tugged satisfyingly in her toes, just for a heartbeat, before droplets of blood welled up on the pale tabby’s muzzle.

            _“Yeow!_ You little shit-!” Littlefang snarled, ears pinning back in rage. “Shadestar’s gonna have you in the nursery ‘till you’re an elder!”

            “Go ahead, tell her. Then everybody will know a _kit_ got the best of you,” Rabbitpaw sneered. Her quick thinking paid off when she saw Littlefang hesitate, green eyes narrowing.

            “I always knew you were going to be the most useless. Even Newtpaw’s got more potential in one of her paws than you do in your whole body, and half of her paws don’t even work!” he hissed back.

            The jab hurt, but Rabbitpaw just snorted. “Right, because you have _so_ much experience as a warrior already to make that call. Papa told me Shadestar only made you a warrior with Skyflower to spare you your _feelings.”_

            She aimed low and hit true. Littlefang had been born just as his name suggested, barely half the size of his sister and runt-sickly. Somehow, he had survived, but only ever grew to the size of a senior apprentice.

            The part about Hunter telling Rabbitpaw about Littlefang’s early warrior ceremony was false, of course, that kind of information was strictly confidential between the clan leader and the deputy.

But Littlefang didn’t have to know that.

            The skinny tabby’s tail began to lash like an angry snake. His back raised and the fur along it began to bristle. For a moment, Rabbitpaw was worried- would he really attack a junior apprentice for making fun of him?

            Just as she unsheathed her paws to prepare for a brawl, Littlefang lowered his hackles and sat down, laughing merrily.

            _Uh, what?_

            “Aha, you should have seen the look on your face! You thought I was gonna shred your ass to bits,” Littlefang snickered. “Nah, I like you, Rabbitpaw. You make this hole in the woods a lot more tolerable.”

            Still chuckling in amusement, he trotted off with his tail held high. At the camp entrance, Skyflower and her friend Weaseltail joined up with him, bumping shoulders and chattering away without a care in the world.

            Rabbitpaw shook her head in disbelief and slid back into the nursery before she could get into any more trouble. _What a weird tom._

            Puddlefoot glanced up from his sleeping kits. “What in StarClan was all that racket out there? Don’t do anything else you might regret later, short-stack.”

            “I’m not _that_ short! And it was just Littlefang being a pain, as usual,” she sniffed.

            “Why am I not surprised.”

            They sat in comfortable silence for a while. As the last glow of the sun’s rays faded behind the horizon, however, Rabbitpaw could no longer keep herself from squirming. Just outside, the hustle and bustle of ShadeClan life rose into full swing.

            “How am I supposed to train to be a warrior if I’m stuck in here? How am I supposed to be _useful?”_ Rabbitpaw demanded.

            “It’ll pass soon enough,” Puddlefoot promised. “Everybody gets in trouble sometimes. Even if the punishment is a little overboard.”

            The tabby king muttered the last part, but Rabbitpaw heard it clear enough. “Really? You think so?”

            “Yes. I’d never tell another cat how to be a parent, but-”

            He was cut off by the sound of Shadestar’s piercing yowl, no doubt up on the ledge.

            Mousekit and Mistkit’s heads popped up, both bleary-eyed but rapidly becoming more alert. Mistkit yawned hugely and stretched, pushing his brother away in the process.

            “What’s Shadestar yelling for?” Mousekit complained.

            Puddlefoot rose and poked his head out to see what was going on. Then, his tail shot straight up and smacked against the roof of the den. He scrambled backwards and started frantically licking Mistkit and Mousekit, much to the surprise and annoyance of the boys.

            “Oh, by all the gods- Mistkit! Stay still! Rabbitpaw, get Mousekit and clean that spot on his back,” he ordered frantically.

            Without thinking, Rabbitpaw grabbed a squirming Mousekit and went to work.

            _“Hey!_ Rabbitpaw, come on!”

            “Shh! Uncle, what’s happening?”

            “Shadestar decided to—Mistkit, quit whining, she’s holding the boys’ apprentice ceremony now. Like, right _now!”_

            _“What?”_

            At that, Mistkit and Mousekit started screaming in excitement, and Rabbitpaw was forced to release Mousekit before he accidentally clawed her. Mistkit was hard on his heels, still screeching like a demon. Puddlefoot scrambled out of the nursery after his sons. The whooping and hollering of the boys echoed all around the hollow, nearly drowning out the sound of the gathering crowd and Puddlefoot’s desperate attempts to order them to calm down.

            Rabbitpaw sat there, stunned, before blinking several times to get her thoughts back together. One moment passed, then another, and then a wave of cheering filled the air.

            Slowly, she crept up to the entrance and peered out.

            Through the space between Mushroom and Duskheart, she saw Mistkit, no, Mist _paw,_ padding forward to bump his forehead against Rustyclaw, a grouchy but skilled warrior. She hadn’t really ever gotten the chance to meet him, but for the first time, Rabbitpaw saw the ginger tom’s eyes glow with happiness. Then, the pair stepped aside to sit next to Puddlefoot, and Mousekit was called forward to receive his new name and mentor. The small kitten was practically vibrating with joy.

            It was then Rabbitpaw understood.

            She wasn’t needed in ShadeClan. She was one apprentice, one cat in a group of too many to even count, easily cast aside and replaced. There was nothing special about her, nothing that would ever set her apart to her parents or community.

            Slowly but surely, she felt her heart sink down to her stomach, and then down to her paws and into the dirt. Rabbitpaw turned and crept back into the nursery to hide against the back wall of the little cavern. She didn’t come out for the rest of the night, and when nobody came to speak to her, slept through the following day. No more spirits came to speak with her. In fact, she didn’t dream at all.

            It was on the evening of the second night of her moon that she decided she wouldn’t be speaking to Rainpaw and Bluemoon about her dream. From the edge of the nursery entrance, Rabbitpaw could see the two healers engrossed in their work. Whatever the two toms were seeing in the leaves at their paws, it looked incredibly important. Well, it did to Bluemoon at least. Rainpaw just looked baffled.

            Just as she decided to go back to her nest and wait for Acornpaw and Newtpaw to come back from training, Bluemoon’s slender head swiveled around like an owl’s, and piercing dark eyes bore right into her own. For the space of a heartbeat, the normally amicable-looking tomcat didn’t even look like himself.

            Rabbitpaw just about jumped out of her pelt at the strange expression on Bluemoon’s face. Before she could even so much as scoot back into the little cave, however, the shadows cleared from the healer’s eyes and he blinked warmly at her.

            _Did I just imagine all of that?_

            “Rabbitpaw! Come here and help me!” Rainpaw yelled. For emphasis, he grabbed pawfuls of the leaves in the dirt and threw them up into the air out of frustration.

            “Rainpaw! You know I was looking into those!” Bluemoon scolded, reaching out and swiftly slapping his apprentice upside the head. Rabbitpaw was surprised at how genuinely angry he looked.

            The small silver tabby winced. “Sorry.”

            Bluemoon seemed to realize how that must have looked and turned to Rabbitpaw with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, kiddo, that must have looked bad. I saw a sign in those leaves, probably something from StarClan.”

            “A _sign?”_ Good gods, that was something.

            “Yes. Rainpaw, go ahead and bring all of these to the medicine den. I need to speak with Shadestar and Hunter…” Bluemoon’s gaze fixed on something far in the distance, like he could see something nobody else could, and quickly trotted off. Other cats parted around him, nodding in respect. Rabbitpaw wondered if the healer’s palpable aura of power affected the other cats just as much as it did her.

            A huffing Rainpaw didn’t seem to care about any auras or creepy shadowed eyes. “Ugh. Help me gather these up?”

            “Huh? Oh, yeah.” She started swiping the leaves together into a loose pile. “So… being a healer. Do you ever get any weird dreams?”

            Rainpaw perked up, yellow eyes brightening like a sunrise. “Oh, spirits, _yes._ The first night as a medicine cat some StarClan cats came to me in my sleep. They were some old ShadeClan healers and their friends. We just talked for awhile about what they each figured out what being a healer really meant, like how this one fella named Goldenmoon learned how to heal cats mentally as well as physically. I think he called it “therapy”?”

            _To heal cats from the inside out…_ Rabbitpaw thought what an incredible feat that must have been, especially for a colony which never really got the chance to develop, not like TideClan had. Then again, this new version of an old clan wasn’t exactly experienced in culture, either. Hunter had assured her that ShadeClan already had a culture: the mismatched faiths of strays and coast-cats alike, the Nine Guides and StarClan combined.

            Her heart sunk when she remembered Hunter didn’t seem to like her anymore.

            Rainpaw mistook her silence for thoughtfulness. “What, did you have any weird dreams? Bluemoon and I are always down to talk about weird dreams.”

            “I… yeah, actually.” Rabbitpaw blinked away her sadness and thought about her strange vision. The excitement and terror of it made her shiver a little, the thrill of it all far from wearing off. “I was in StarClan, down on the beach with a TideClan spirit. She said her name was Sandstar and she was an old clan leader of theirs.”

            “Sandstar? That would be the leader before Nightstar, then!” Rainpaw exclaimed.

            “Huh?”

            “Stormstar’s father. Y’know, the heroic molly who saved Eaglestar?”

            “Oh, _that_ Nightstar. Anyways, she told me I’d run off with two other cats to the mountains, and then to the sea, because something bad got loose,” Rabbitpaw recited, trying to remember exactly what Sandstar told her. “I have no idea what she means.”

            Rainpaw’s eyes were as round as the moon, before his brows furrowed. “But why would she come to you and not me? I’m the medicine cat apprentice.”

            “I’ve wondered about the same thing.”

            He eyeballed her shrewdly before giving a huff and bending down to pick up the leaves. When he turned to head to the medicine den, he flicked his tail at her, silently ordering her to follow him.

            She speared the remaining scraps with the tips of her claws and transferred them to her mouth before padding after Rainpaw.

            Just as she entered the medicine den, a small _plop_ behind her had her turn her head to figure out the source of the noise. Another _plop_ joined the first, wetting the dirt in a perfect circle, and then the sky opened up. Rabbitpaw heard shrieking laughter and yowls of annoyance from cats who got caught in the downpour. Hopefully her brother and sister wouldn’t get too wet out in the forest.

            Rainpaw grunted to get her attention before gesturing with a claw to show where he wanted her to put the leaves. She obeyed and spit them out, wrinkling her muzzle at the foul aftertaste. _Gross._

            “What were her exact words?”

            She looked up at the silver tabby, staring at her with calculating eyes. “Who, Sandstar? She said… she said something had broken free from a ‘most unholy place’, is how she described it. Then she told me I would defeat it or something with the two other cats.”

            As the words came out of her mouth, she became increasingly aware of how stupid everything sounded. She swallowed, unable to meet Rainpaw’s fierce stare. “I-I don’t think… I mean, I probably just got knocked silly by that hare, right? It’s not like StarClan actually thinks I can just run off and fight some kind of…”

            _Monster._

            The unspoken word lingered between them like morning-mist.

            Rabbitpaw crouched down to warm her paws under her belly as the rainstorm outside began to chill the air, and carefully kept Rainpaw out of her line of sight.

            Before the silence could stretch on any longer, Rainpaw shook his head. “Rabbitpaw, I know what you’re thinking. Monsters aren’t real, right? They’re just scary stories to get kits to behave or prank a friend with.”

            “Yeah, exactly-”

            He shot her a glare. “Because if most cats knew the truth, the things that go bump in the day would become truly dangerous. But you’re not like most cats, if StarClan thinks you’re prophecy-worthy. You’ve seen them in your dreams, right?”

            She stared at him, at a loss for words. A horrible sinking sensation dragged her stomach down, until it felt like it was going to fall deep into the earth, as a small part of her finally acknowledged that Rainpaw was right.

            “Why is it dangerous to know they’re real?” she whispered.

            “Well, think of it this way. StarClan exists because we do, right?”

            “… Right?”

            “And the Nine Guides exist because we do, because we are _cats,_ the most noble race to walk this realm. Perhaps they rule it, Rabbitpaw, but don’t forget that _we_ created those gods. And we created StarClan. So why shouldn’t we have created monsters as well?”

            Rabbitpaw pushed herself upright, head reeling as she thought of every legend she knew, like the mischief-goddess Errat and her many battles against _jinor_ demons, or Felinus, the king of the gods who had been sired by the night sky. His queen, Mafelest, led the Great War against the Day-Spirits, horrible wraiths who had cursed her children with sensitivity to light and thus turning all cats to night-dwelling folk.

            Wherever there were creatures of good, there were always those of evil.

            “But why would they be… acting out? I mean, if this kind of thing has happened before…” she began, but Rainpaw just shook his head.

            “I don’t know. I’ll ask Bluemoon, but as far as any healer knows, monsters, demons, and spirits almost always mind their own business. Same with gods. How or why StarClan knows and told you about it…” Rainpaw let his front legs slide out from underneath him, and he laid down in the cool sand. For the first time, Rabbitpaw realized that he was still a kitten, just like her. His golden eyes were older, though, like everything he knew about immortal beings and the afterlife weighed heavily on his soul.

            “I had a dream about something chasing me, the day before yesterday. A lot of somethings. They weren’t any kind of animal that should be on this earth,” Rabbitpaw told him, feeling the rain-chill soaking through her bones at the memory.

            “Then you have to go.”

            “What?”

            It was Rainpaw who now looked painfully guilty. He shifted from side to side, not looking at her. “You… you have to go. If StarClan chose you to stop all of this, then you need to find the other two cats and start your quest. Bad things happen to people who fight destiny.”

            The ground spun beneath Rabbitpaw’s feet. She lurched upright, feeling her breathing coming quicker and quicker.

            Rainpaw got up, concern flooding his expression, but Rabbitpaw couldn’t take it. It was all too much.

            “No. No, I can’t stop those… those _things._ I can’t. I can’t!”

            She bolted out of the medicine den and back to the nursery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dudes, holy SHIT. Thank you so much for waiting so long. I crashed after classes ended and had major writer's block. To all y'all who are reading my Voltron fic, don't worry. It's gonna happen. Same with this.


	4. Chapter 4

            Sunpaw dodged a large brown paw swiping past her head with ease. Its owner’s head followed it and collided with her own with a _thunk,_ and she winced but didn’t let up. Spreading her webbed toes out into the sand to hold her ground, she shoved hard, rolled her muzzle under her opponent’s jaw, and forced him back. For a fraction of a heartbeat, her opponent’s front paws were pushed up off the ground from the force of the attack.

            That was all the time she needed. With a deep growl, she lunged and slammed into a soft belly. Satisfaction settled in her gut like a good meal when she felt the air get forced from her opponent’s lungs with a pained wheeze. They went ears-over-tails for several cat-lengths, Sunpaw battering her opponent with hard kicks. With a grunt of exertion, she felt him stop their tumbling with a powerful twist of his body, and she was forcefully thrown off.

            She twisted, swinging her tail up and around to find her center of gravity, and landed perfectly in the sand.

            Her opponent was already charging. Fortunately, Sunpaw knew that would happen, and so when he was almost upon her, she stepped aside to let him pass. Just as he drew level with her chest, she swiped at his legs and sent him sprawling. Sand went flying everywhere.

            The dark tabby, her mentor, laid on his back for a moment, breathing heavily.

Then he burst out laughing, and Sunpaw felt herself return to the real world.

            “That was _great,_ Sunpaw! _Excellent_ work. Great StarClan, I’m going to be feeling that for a few nights,” Eaglestar praised. He braced himself, and then rolled over with a wince. The large tom was completely coated in sand, seaweed, and a couple of gull feathers. Sunpaw knew she didn’t look much better.

            She felt a purr start up in the back of her throat and bounced over to him. “What can I do next time? Was the leg-sweep a little too risky?”

            “The leg-sweep was awesome. Just make sure you don’t do that with big fat cats like me too much,” Eaglestar chuckled, nodding to her front right leg. Sunpaw then realized it was sore as all hell, and that she was favoring it. She groaned in annoyance; hunting up in the forest was going to be a literal pain for a couple nights. At least she deserved it for throttling Eaglestar the way she did, even though her sweet-tempered mentor would never even think of such a thing.

            The clan leader shook himself off in a spray of sand and grit, and Sunpaw did the same. “Come on, warrior-girl. Let’s go get this stuff out of our undercoats before we get mats.”

            “Your mate will laugh his ass off if we return with the freezing-shakes,” Sunpaw said dryly, but her heart soared at Eaglestar’s nickname for her. The clan leader beamed down at Sunpaw and flicked her shoulder with his tail, trotting right beside her as they stepped into the chilly ocean waves.

            Eaglestar huffed in amusement. “Bluemoon won’t be back until tomorrow night, no worries. Besides, it’s not like the ocean is-”

            An unusually large wave rolled up to them and crashed into their chests, soaking their bellies. Eaglestar all but leapt straight into the air with a squeal, tail bushed out from the shock of the freezing water. “That _cold!”_

            Sunpaw splashed water into the tom’s face and dove under before he could retaliate. She dove under another oncoming wave and surfaced just in time to get squashed by Eaglestar pouncing on her, almost flattening her to the seabed. The clan leader was right, though, the water was cold enough to make her ears numb despite not having been in it that long. The salt stung her eyes and nostrils, but she ignored it.

            She rolled over to flip Eaglestar off her, and she followed him around underwater for a bit as he looked around for fish. Upon not finding anything other than a clam shell, Eaglestar pushed off the sand to rise back to the surface, paddling lazily to help his ascent.

            When Sunpaw turned to do the same, however, she was rewarded with a hard, sharp _something_ to the face. She jerked back, instinctively squeezing her eyes shut to protect them, before cautiously peeking around to see what had hit her.

            Right in front of her, as if StarClan themselves had dropped it from the heavens, was a large conch shell. A small part of it was broken off, and the rest of it was scarred up as if it had been around for a long time.

            She stared at it in surprise. Intact conch shells were rare, and many considered them to bring good luck, particularly of the kind that brought kittens to the nursery. Flameflash and Dustypool had brought one to camp the season cycle before she, her sisters, and the rest of the apprentices were born.

            Without thinking, she grabbed it, kicked off the sea floor, and rose up to the surface.

            Eaglestar was waiting for her, a trace of concern in his green eyes, but when he saw her, he lit back up. She must have been under longer than she had realized. “There you are! Whoa, that thing is huge!”

            Sunpaw grunted in agreement, neck already beginning to ache from the strain of carrying it in her jaws. The moment she felt the ground beneath her paws she dug in and hauled herself the rest of the way to the beach. Once she was on dry land, she let the shell drop from her mouth, breathing heavily as she stared down at it.

            She felt Eaglestar peer over her shoulder to take a look. “I’m surprised I didn’t see that earlier. Where’d you find it?”

            “It hit me in the face,” Sunpaw told him, still staring at it. Something about the shell was pulling all of her attention away from the rest of the world. Carefully, she brushed a paw across the scarred surface, feeling the deeper cuts tug at the tips of her claws.

            On a whim, she rolled it over to expose its pink underside.

            Etched into the perfect curve of the shell were a series of… symbols?

            They were jagged and pointy, shaped like if somebody took a stick and snapped it in half. Beside the pointy marks was a squiggly line, with even more weird scratches coming from that. Sunpaw had seen scratches in things her whole life; she was a cat, but something about this shell seemed… off.

            Eaglestar voiced her thoughts for her. “What in StarClan?”

            “… Bluemoon should see this,” she mumbled.

            “I was thinking the same thing. Do you want to carry it?”

            “Yeah.”

            Sunpaw grabbed the conch shell again and followed Eaglestar back to the cliff.

            On the way back up to the cave they ran into Spottedpaw and Dawnpaw. When the two she-cats saw the conch shell, their eyes widened in delight.

            “Fireflower and Snowsky are gonna be all over that,” Spottedpaw chirped.

            “Mm,” Sunpaw grunted past the shell.

            “More kittens in the nursery, I hope!”

            Eaglestar raised a brow. “Not from you, young lady!”

            Spottedpaw stuck out her tongue at him and barreled past him, cackling mischievously. With a yelp, Dawnpaw chased after her, nearly running into Sunpaw in the process. Sunpaw heard Pinepaw yelling at the sisters from the forest’s edge, with him swearing to StarClan that Spottedpaw better not get herself knocked up before she even graduated.

             A raucous burst of laughter followed that as Sunpaw and Eaglestar made it to the cave.

             Sunpaw immediately looked away from the source, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Spikeclaw with Batpaw and Beetlepaw. Her mother was sharing a fish with them, telling some story of her time as a rogue. Batpaw and Beetlepaw were completely entranced.

             Quickly, she tried to follow Eaglestar into the cave so she could leave the conch shell in the medicine den for Bluemoon. _Don’t look at me, don’t look at me, don’t look at me…_

             “Hey, Sunny!”

_Dammit._

             It was Beetlepaw, grinning toothily at her. “Come listen to this wild story Momma’s telling! She fought a _dog!”_

             Spikeclaw flicked her tail and nodded in approval at Sunpaw. “Damn, dude, that’s a big shell you got there.”

             “Uh-huh,” Sunpaw said, as her mouth was full of said shell.

             “Sunpaw!” Eaglestar called from inside the cave. “Come put it away for Bluemoon!”

 _Thank StarClan,_ Sunpaw thought. Nodding to Spikeclaw and her sisters, she quickly trotted off to the medicine den.

             On her way, she passed the elders dozing comfortably on the cool rock. Eggfur and Thunderstep, now retired, were piled together in a fluffy heap of cat. Blossompelt stretched out next to them and yawned contently. Thistlefeather and Stone-eye did the same. Not too far away, Lightningstripe, Aukletflight, and Brightclaw chatted amongst themselves while sharing a salmon.

             Sunpaw figured that everybody else was out hunting or patrolling. Ever since the defeat of the rogues last autumn, most of TideClan had taken to routinely visiting the borders in case anything was amiss. Nobody had found anything other than the occasional whiff of a passing loner or coyote, but she doubted the hyper-vigilance wouldn’t let up anytime soon. Not that she could blame them; visions of evil cats invading her home were a common occurrence in her dreams. Eaglestar and Otterscratch made frequent trips to the ShadeClan camp to make sure the forest cats were left alone as well, and Shadestar and Hunter were common visitors for the same reasons.

             One would think that the proud tortoiseshell would want to be left alone with her clan, Sunpaw mused as she set down the shell in Bluemoon’s workspace. Shadestar certainly carried an air of mystery about her, like a storm that looked like it just might pass over, but she did seem to have a soft spot for Eaglestar.

             The thought of Shadestar’s daughter then crossed her mind.

             She rolled her neck, sore. That scrawny tabby had certainly caused quite a fuss. What was her name again- Rabbitpaw? Yeah, Rabbitpaw. Annoying little brat, too, always reveling in attention like she was StarClan’s gift to the coast. Not to mention the fact _Rabbitpaw_ kept staring at her like she expected Sunpaw to sprout wings and fly off into the sunset.

_If I ever have to socialize with her again, it’ll be too soon._

             With that thought, Sunpaw left the medicine den.

             Eaglestar was off at the other side of the cave with Aukletflight and a few other warriors, joking and shoving each other around. She decided to leave the adults to their business and eyeballed the cave entrance.

             If she could just make it to the path, she could escape to the forest and get some hunting done, if her sore leg permitted. Later, she’d go hang out with the newly apprenticed Ivypaw or somebody to make Eaglestar happy.

             Plan firmly set in her mind, Sunpaw swiftly padded outside. With the sun beginning to dip below the horizon, she was forced to stare straight down to avoid getting blinded by the light. Luckily, she used that reason to not look at Spikeclaw and her sisters as she edged her way around them to get to the cliffside path. Once she found it, she was up and out of there like a bird taking flight.

            Triumph eased the ache of training in her body as she galloped into the trees. StarClan must have been looking out for her this evening-

            “Sunpaw!”

            Sunpaw nearly threw a fit right there and then. _Are you kidding me?_

            Reluctantly, she stumbled to a halt and braced herself, and turned to face Spikeclaw.

            She lost all hope when she saw the angry furrow of her mother’s muzzle as the black queen stalked towards her. Her heart started to race. “Sunpaw, are you really going to keep on avoiding your family like this? You haven’t spoken to me or your sisters in days!”

            “I said hello earlier. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” _Hold your ground, Sunpaw. Don’t give her any more power than she already has._

            Spikeclaw’s lips curled a little, revealing ridiculously sharp fangs. “Don’t play stupid with me. I don’t care how long you want to throw this little temper tantrum of yours. At least go on patrol with Batpaw and Beetlepaw once every quarter moon!”

            “You don’t care about me in general, so it’s not like I have anything to lose,” Sunpaw snorted. “Once my sisters stop acting like every word you say is StarClan-sent, maybe we can hang out again. Honestly, they both act like half-moon old kittens.”

            “I _do_ care about you! I always have! That’s why I’m _begging_ you to stop this nonsense with being a molly. You can be happy just as you are,” Spikeclaw pleaded, eyes narrowing to slits. Her bushy tail lashed in aggravation.

            Anger and grief boiled up in Sunpaw’s stomach, but she refused to let it out. No, she would never admit weakness in front of Spikeclaw, not even if it killed her.

            “If I was happy the _way I am,_ would I be putting up with _this?”_ Sunpaw growled, pointing to her mother with the claw on her first toe.

            Spikeclaw opened her mouth to say something, most likely in retaliation from the way her hackles rose, but then she froze. Bright yellow eyes widened as she stared at Sunpaw.

            Sunpaw blinked. For the space of a heartbeat, she dared to hope. _Am I finally breaking through to her?_

            The lanky warrior’s gaze flicked up to something above her, and Sunpaw realized she wasn’t in any kind of emotional revelation.

 _“Get back!”_ Faster than the blink of an eye, Spikeclaw was barreling past Sunpaw with her infamously long talons outstretched. Sunpaw reared back in surprise and followed her trajectory into a patch of shadows at the base of a large cedar, not two cat-lengths behind her.

            Except they weren’t just shadows.

            Limbs of some kind rose from the gloom and slammed into the ground. Spikeclaw’s battle cry split the air. By the time Sunpaw charged for the thing a horrific screech pierced her ears like nothing she had ever felt before, like her very skull was going to shatter.

            Spikeclaw was biting into where Sunpaw guessed was the neck of the monster, but she knew not what to make of the rest of it. It was as big as three warriors combined, with spindly appendages coming out of its torso with no obvious rhyme or reason, pushing itself at an alarming speed towards the cliffs edge. The three of them tumbled head-over-tail across the ground, with Spikeclaw narrowly avoiding getting crushed by its thick body.

            With a spurt of black liquid Sunpaw assumed was blood, Spikeclaw tore off a sizable chunk of flesh before diving back in to maul the thing even more.  

            It didn’t even cry out in pain. Clawing furrows in its black, hairless pelt, Sunpaw sank her fangs into one bony leg-thing, and with a surprising amount of ease, tore the whole thing off.

            “Tear off the legs!” she yowled. Spikeclaw’s eyes flickered to hers for the briefest amount of time before grabbing on to another limb and yanking it off, splattering the both of them in that disgusting dark blood.

            It had more limbs than Sunpaw could count, but with the both of them working together the monster’s advance began to slow.

            A frantic shout from below gave her hope. Just as she tore the last leg free of its socket, Eaglestar came flying from the cliffside, followed by Aukletflight, Brightclaw, Lightningstripe, and all of the apprentices. When the clan leader saw the monster, now limbless and twitching, he skidded to a stop with an expression of absolute horror. Lightningstripe yelped and all but leapt right off the forest’s edge.

            “What in _hell_ is that?” Spottedpaw shrieked.

            Eaglestar didn’t even reprimand his niece for her language. Signaling the others to fan out, he crept towards the thing as if stalking a particularly violent prey animal.

            Something flicked Sunpaw’s shoulder, and she jumped a little before seeing Spikeclaw retreating to join the ring of cats. Quickly, she followed the warrior’s example, doing her best to ignore the renewed soreness that now encompassed her entire body. Even her _tail_ ached.

            As if watching from somewhere outside of herself, Sunpaw looked on as the monster dissolved into the ground before Eaglestar could reach it. One moment it was there, seizing as it died, and the next it simply melted into the shadows of the coming night.

<> 

            Bluemoon returned to TideClan the following evening.

            Eaglestar, Oceansong, and Flameflash had met him at the border to escort him back to camp, but Dustypool and Softstep had gone along to meet with Shadestar to debrief them on what had happened the previous night.

            News got passed around quicker than fleas in spring, and so ended the regular hustle and bustle of clan life. Everybody was inside the cave, and unless it was a scheduled fishing trip or a quick break in the dirt-hole, nobody dared to leave.

            “It had to be some kind of twoleg thing,” Spottedpaw was insisting. “Nothing in nature just _dissolves_ into the ground!”

            “You don’t know that. Maybe this is some kind of creature we’ve never seen before,” Dawnpaw interjected.

            Nearby, Eggfur shook her broad white head. “No, your sister’s gotta be right. Everything we know obeys a set of laws. Twolegs are the only beasts that can break them; they’re the only ones who are powerful enough.”

            Blossompelt blinked thoughtfully and nudged Stone-eye. “Once the others get back, I say we move to send a patrol to the twoleg colony. Even if we don’t find anything, perhaps the rogues know something we don’t.”

            “Mm, that’s a good idea. Hey, Oceansong! C’mere!”

            Meanwhile, Sunpaw watched as the warriors huddled together on the other side of the cave. Otterscratch was saying something to Acornfall, who looked over at Doetuft and Thornfang before shaking his head. Fireflower growled and raked at the stone floor with her front claws. Beside her, Aukletflight and Spikeclaw exchanged uneasy glances.

            “Was it hard to fight?”

            Sunpaw glanced over to see Batpaw crouching beside her. For the first time, her sister was obviously scared. The almost-silent scuffle of paws on the rock beside Sunpaw gave away Beetlepaw, faint ripples of fear rising from her pelt.

            “… Yes. I mean, it didn’t seem to feel pain,” Sunpaw told her. “From now on we’ll have to travel in groups.”

            “Yeah. Maybe you can hang out with us and Momma more, then?” Batpaw said hopefully, looking up at Sunpaw with large golden eyes.

            Sunpaw hesitated, wanting to tell her all the things left unsaid ever since she told the clan who she was, but was then interrupted by a commanding yowl.

            All at once, every single pair of eyes and ears were directed to the mouth of the cave. Eaglestar and Bluemoon strode purposefully to greet their clan, silhouetted by dim starlight from outside and ears flattened with tension. Otterscratch immediately rose to greet them. They exchanged a few words that Sunpaw couldn’t make out before turning to address the rest of the cats.

            It was Eaglestar who spoke first. “Cats of TideClan, as you know, Spikeclaw and Sunpaw were attacked earlier this evening by some monster of unknown origin. If you both could come forward to give your testimonies to those who were not present?”

            She was instantly aware of many eyes on her. Gathering her nerves, Sunpaw padded up to the three toms and took a seat beside Eaglestar. He bumped her shoulder comfortingly, but the pale molly couldn’t draw much support from the gesture as Spikeclaw came up to sit by Bluemoon. On Eaglestar’s other side, Otterscratch eyeballed the black queen with open distaste, claws briefly unsheathing, before nodding to Sunpaw with a much softer look.

            “The thing was coming up from behind Sunpaw when I first saw it,” Spikeclaw rasped. “At first I didn’t know what the hell I was looking at. Then, I’m pretty sure it realized I’d spotted it, ‘cause its weird legs started flailing everywhere as it tried to push itself along the ground. I jumped on it and started bitin’ the shit out of it, but it didn’t even react.”

            “It screeched at us when Spikeclaw attacked, but other than that it gave no visible reaction to pain.” Sunpaw cleared her throat, embarrassment heating her ears when her voice came out deeper than she intended. “The only vulnerable parts of its body were the legs.”

            Spikeclaw grunted in agreement. “Yeah, the thing looked like a spider mated with some rotting roadkill and had babies. Black and hairless and no eyes. Twice as big as Sunpaw, maybe a little bigger.”

            A silence followed that. Sunpaw waited for Flameflash or Spottedpaw to crack a joke, or some kind of protest at the whole ordeal from Stone-eye, but nobody said anything.

            “Well,” Eaglestar sighed. “Looks like some changes need to be made around here. Nobody should have any reason to be out in the forest alone; groups of three at the minimum for any sort of expedition outside. I’ll be posting guards at the cliff path and down by the beach. Apprentices need to be with a warrior at all times. This is an entirely new situation for all of us, so if anybody has any ideas they think might help…”

            From the crowd, Fireflower rose to her feet. As the oldest queen in TideClan and the nursery’s doula, she commanded immense respect from every cat on the shore. Sunpaw liked her because she was Otterscratch’s mother and hissed at Spikeclaw whenever she got the chance. “Eaglestar, the first heat cycle of the year is going to happen within this coming moon. If we’re all to keep our heads, we need to come up with some sort of… plan.”

            The clan leader winced. “Oh, StarClan’s whiskers, you’re right. Is there some way you all can, uh… hold it back?”

            An explosion of laughter echoed off the cave walls as every adult cat doubled over in hysterics. As if the sun had finally managed to shine through a heavy raincloud, the fear and unease washed out of the cave like a spring storm. Even Sunpaw found herself smiling at the mess Eaglestar had unwittingly created.

            Unsurprisingly, the clan leader was doing his best to muffle his snickering into a paw. “Sorry, people, that idea came from anywhere _but_ my brain. Fireflower, I’m going to trust your judgement on this, alright? If there are more of these monsters, then this cannot be a time to bring kittens into the world.”

            “On it!”

            “Everyone else, stay close and stay safe. Otterscratch, go ahead and get a patrol together, I want you to-”

            A horrific screech had everybody scrambling to their paws. Sunpaw whipped around to see a slender gray tabby come flying in, paws bloody and eyes wide in terror.

            “Who-? _Skyflower!_ What’s wrong?” Eaglestar demanded, surging over to her as her legs gave way. Bluemoon darted after him and started sniffing the ShadeClan molly all over, trying to figure out where she was wounded other than her paws, but found nothing. The healer beckoned Sunpaw over with a flick of his tail, and without even thinking, she obeyed.

            Skyflower was so out of breath she couldn’t even speak. Her narrow chest expanded and shrunk down more times than Sunpaw could count before the exhausted warrior could so much as get a word out.

            “Demon, it got me, got me,” she wheezed.

            Sunpaw felt her blood run cold.

            “It’s okay, dear, just take deep breaths,” Eaglestar urged, but she could see the fear in his forest green eyes. “It’s over now.”

            “Got you,” Skyflower slurred. Her head lolled over, and she didn’t breathe again after that.

           


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as the shocked exclamations from the rest of the clan died down, Skyflower of ShadeClan was pronounced dead. Bluemoon gently brushed a paw over her eyes to close them as he muttered a swift prayer to StarClan. Despite the soothing murmur of his voice there was no mistaking the stiffness of his back and shoulders, and even as the healer nosed the molly’s limp form to see what he could find, Sunpaw knew there would be no apparent cause of death. The blood on her paws was her own, she realized when she saw the gashes on her haunches. Skyflower had been driven into such a frenzy that she mutilated herself. But why?

 

 _Skyflower._ If the second part of her name held the same meaning in ShadeClan as it did by the sea, then she would have been a mother before long; most young mollies eager to start families were named -flower. _ShadeClan won’t be happy about losing a warrior so soon after winter, much less a potential queen. Will they think that we’re somehow responsible?_

 

“We need to get her home. I’ll carry her,” a familiar voice said. Sunpaw looked up to see Fireflower talking to Bluemoon, Eaglestar, and Otterscratch. The ginger queen brushed her tail over Skyflower, as if she was mourning the ShadeClan warrior despite never having known her. 

 

Otterscratch looked like he wanted to argue with his mother, but thought better of it and shook his head. “Yeah, I don’t want to overstay my welcome there. I don’t know about you, Eaglestar, but a doula might keep ShadeClan calmer than a regular warrior bringing them one of their dead cats.”

 

“Good idea. Bring a couple of extra paws with you. I don’t want to find out the hard way that the thing Spikeclaw and Sunpaw fought wasn’t alone,” Eaglestar ordered. 

 

“Agreed.”

 

“I’ll go with you.”

 

The words were out of Sunpaw’s mouth before she could even think. Eaglestar, Bluemoon, Otterscratch, and Fireflower all turned to look at her in surprise, with Eaglestar’s ears lowering reluctantly. Despite her mentor’s worry, Sunpaw knew this was something she needed to do, even if she didn’t know why. 

 

“You’ve had a long day, Sunpaw. You should probably take tonight off,” Eaglestar suggested. He clearly did not want to let her go. 

 

“I don’t think I could sleep if I wanted to. Besides, I know how to fight… whatever those things are,” she argued. 

 

_“Sunpaw!”_

 

Sunpaw’s ears flipped back at the sound of Spikeclaw’s voice calling her from the apprentice’s den, no doubt at Batpaw and Beetlepaw’s insistence that she stay with them for a while. Another mandatory “family fun” session, how wonderful. 

 

She looked back from where she was staring at the elders’ den in time to see Otterscratch’s green eyes narrow before he looked back to her, and then Eaglestar, who blinked in confusion before nodding to Sunpaw. She didn’t know if her mentor understood the whole situation, but she was relieved nonetheless. “Be safe, you two.”

 

 _StarClan bless you, Otterscratch,_ she praised. Fireflower crouched down beside Skyflower, and Sunpaw braced herself for what she would have to do next. Carefully, she fastened her teeth into Skyflower’s scruff, holding her breath, and lifted the gray tabby on to Fireflower’s broad back. Skyflower didn’t weigh as much as Sunpaw thought she would, so the process turned out to be easier than expected. 

 

As soon as Sunpaw was sure Skyflower’s body wouldn’t fall off, she stepped away to let Fireflower stand. 

 

“Ready?” the queen asked. 

 

Sunpaw dipped her head and let Fireflower take the lead as they left the cave. Together, they climbed the path up the cliff and headed into the forest, which lit up as the moon began to swing low over the horizon. 

 

Neither of them spoke for a bit, not wanting to attract the attention of another demon-thing. Crickets chirped in the thicket and an owl called in the distance, but Sunpaw didn’t want to be taken off-guard. 

 

It felt like forever before the absence of any strange smells or sights let Sunpaw relax a bit, with Fireflower doing the same after a little while more. Another owl answered the first, likely a pair meeting up for a hunting trip. If they had young (what were baby owls even called?) then they would need all the food they could get. 

 

“How’s training going?” Fireflower asked, glancing down at her fondly. “A little bird told me you’re turning out to be quite the fighter.”

 

“A… little bird?”

 

“Well, not little. It was actually a rather large bird. An _eagle,_ if you will.”

 

Sunpaw proudly raised her tail when she understood what Fireflower was saying. “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll be the best one day.”

 

“I have no doubt that you will.”

 

There was genuine pride in Fireflower’s voice, but Sunpaw didn’t miss the troubled look in those beautiful green eyes. Her heart twinged in sympathy; she knew the queen would be in way over her head once the mollies started going into heat, and if there were indeed more of those creatures in TideClan territory…

 

Sunpaw flicked her tail against Fireflower’s. “We’re going to get through this. TideClan can survive anything.”

 

“... We will. But while I have the chance, I want to ask you about something else that’s been worrying me.” Fireflower didn’t meet her gaze. 

 

Sunpaw looked away, not wanting to look at the dead cat draped over Fireflower’s back any longer than she had to. “Oh?”

 

“Spikeclaw.”

 

The name alone sent a shard of ice into her heart. “What about her?”

 

“Has she hurt you?”

 

“I… no. Of course not. I could beat her in a fight anyday.” 

 

Even as she spoke, however, she didn’t know whether or not she was speaking the truth. If… if Spikeclaw lost her temper one day, would Sunpaw be able to hold her own? 

 

Fireflower shook her head. “Not like that. I’ve noticed that you and her haven’t been close in quite some time. Does she not…?”

 

“... No. She doesn’t.”

 

“Is that something that I or Eaglestar should bring up with her?”

 

“No!” 

 

The answer shot from her mouth, sharp like thorns, before she could stop it. Around them, the regular noises of the night didn’t so much as falter as swallow up her protests. Sunpaw still winced; raising her voice wasn’t something she was used to. 

 

She shook her head and didn’t look at Fireflower. “Sorry. But no. I don’t want to bring anyone else into this.”

 

Fireflower looked like she wanted to argue, but before Sunpaw could refuse her again the queen sighed. “If that’s what you want. Just remember that if you ever want help…”

 

“I will.” Sunpaw swallowed back the dryness in her throat. “Thank you.”

 

“Of course, dear.”

 

Sunpaw didn’t say anything else until they reached the no-cat’s land that separated TideClan territory from ShadeClan’s, and neither did Fireflower. Scent markers were scattered through a loose boundary of trees, strong enough to be noticeable all the way down the rise. The break in the trees allowed the moonlight to filter down and light up the forest floor. 

 

“A patrol just passed us. I don’t want to wait until sun-up for another one to come by, so we’re going to ShadeClan’s camp,” Fireflower told her. 

 

“Good idea,” Sunpaw said, even though it was beginning to really hit her that she and Fireflower were about to bring ShadeClan a dead clanmate. They wouldn’t accuse them of doing it, would they? If she and Fireflower were attacked in the camp they wouldn’t be able to do a whole lot.

 

“Stay close.” Silent as a shadow, Fireflower slunk out into the open, tail level with the ground and ears laid back. Sunpaw quickly followed her lead. 

 

Being big and brightly colored was great when one lived by the sea and therefore had little use for camouflage. It was not great, however, for sneaking around in a forest. Sunpaw felt like every pair of eyes on the coast was on them, especially after she saw an owl looking down at them from a pine tree. The owl stared at her with those weirdly expressive eyes before taking off into the night, most likely deciding that a smaller critter would make for a better meal. 

 

By some miracle, they made it to the border without being attacked by something. Fireflower rolled her shoulders to adjust Skyflower’s body across her back once the scent markers were behind them. Lifeless green eyes flashed briefly in the moonlight. 

 

Sunpaw quickly looked away and forced her hackles to lie flat. “Do you remember which way to-”

 

A screeching yowl cut her off and made her jump to her feet. Something small and two-legged shot out from the bushes, nearly the same black as the night sky, and skidded to a halt before Fireflower. 

 

At first, Sunpaw’s mind couldn’t make sense of what she was seeing. For the space of a heartbeat, she thought it was a demon. Fortunately, she then realized it was a molly-kitten about six moons old, but the way she moved wasn’t like anything Sunpaw had ever seen before. 

 

Then it clicked. Sunpaw reared back in horror. The kit was running _on her front legs._

 

“Why is Skyflower _dead?”_ the kit hissed, twisting her neck nearly upside-down to glare at an equally stunned Fireflower. Pale tortoiseshell speckles on her shoulders and back rippled like the lights that flashed before one’s eyes after getting hit in a fight. 

 

Another frantic call made Sunpaw whip around to face the bracken, followed by a brown tabby tom bursting out into their little clearing. _“Newtpaw!_ What in the name of the Guides-?”

 

Then he saw Skyflower’s body, and his ears and tail drooped. “Oh. Newtpaw, stand down. _Now,_ young lady!”

 

The freak of nature called Newtpaw lowered her hindquarters, still obviously itching for a fight but unwilling to obey a direct order from her superior. Both of her back legs were twisted inwards as if she had taken a very long fall down a cliff. 

 

“What happened?” the tabby tom demanded, rushing over to Fireflower as she lowered herself to a crouch so he could look her over. He sniffed her mauled haunches, her face and paws. 

 

“She was attacked by a creature that attacked Sunpaw earlier, as well as her mother. We don’t know what it is,” Fireflower told him. 

 

“A creature?”

 

“It’s like nothing TideClan has ever seen before. When we get your warrior to camp we can explain everything.”

 

The tabby tom hesitated, and then nodded. “Newtpaw, run back home and tell Shadestar what’s happening.”

 

“Yessir!” Newtpaw gave Sunpaw the stink-eye and took off on her two front paws. Sunpaw stared after her, still unsure whether to be impressed or totally freaked out.

 

The tabby tom sighed. “I apologize for my apprentice. She’s been in a mood lately. Come, I’ll take you to camp.”

 

The trip to ShadeClan’s camp wasn’t as long as the trip out of TideClan territory was, but it was still quite some time before the odor of many strange cats flooded her nose. How the forest smelled changed as well, as the ocean breeze didn’t reach this far inland. 

 

She and Fireflower followed the tabby tom through a small break in the foliage and into a sandy hollow. 

 

Newtpaw had apparently made it to the hollow long before, as what Sunpaw guessed was the entirety of ShadeClan was gathered together under a ledge. On the ledge sat Shadestar and Hunter. Both leaders sat stiffly, staring at her and Fireflower without a word. 

 

Sunpaw forced herself to swallow her fear as she padded down into the hollow, praying to StarClan that nobody would lose their temper. Hopefully the tabby tom that brought them here would vouch for them if it came down to it. In the meantime, she tried to think unhappy, not-guilty-of-murder thoughts. 

 

“Mushroom, where did you find them?” Shadestar called out. 

 

“Just inside the border, ma’am. It was Newtpaw who found them first, actually, and I caught up right after,” the tabby tom they were with replied. He helped Sunpaw drag Skyflower off Fireflower’s back and lay her down in the sand. She was stiff and cold now, like the dead cats Sunpaw had seen late last autumn. The first few bodies were hard to look at, but as the war against Eaglestar’s late sister wore on it became easier to deal with, even if she had nightmares for moons afterwards. 

 

Somebody wailed, low and heartbroken, and a small gray tom came pushing through the crowd to stand before Skyflower. Judging by the similar striped pattern and green eyes, this had to be a brother of the same litter. Two older cats caught up with him, a solid gray queen and another lanky tabby. The queen lowered herself quietly beside her dead daughter and buried her face in Skyflower’s fur, and the tom did the same, muttering something Sunpaw couldn’t hear.

 

Skyflower’s brother wasn’t nearly as dignified as his parents. He stormed over to Sunpaw and shoved his face into hers, which would have been scary had he not been half her size. _“Who did this?”_

 

“Not who. What,” Sunpaw told him. 

 

“Littlefang, stand down. Fireflower, Sunpaw, tell us everything you know,” Shadestar ordered. Pale hazel eyes glinted in the night. 

 

Littlefang backed away, tail bushed out in rage, and Fireflower stepped forward and dipped her head to Shadestar and Hunter. “Skyflower came running into our cave just after the sun went down, out of her mind with fear. She said something about demons getting her, but before we could calm her down she just… died. When Bluemoon examined her body he determined all of her injuries were self-inflicted.”

 

“You say she was acting like she’d lost her mind?” Shadestar asked sharply.

 

“Yes.”

 

“A queen’s mania, perhaps? Does anybody know if she was pregnant?” a female voice called out. 

 

“If she was, then that is the answer we will go with,” Hunter said, calm as ever. 

 

“But there’s more,” Fireflower added. “Earlier in the evening, Sunpaw here and her mother were attacked by the cliff’s edge by some creature of unknown origins. It was very hard to kill, and when it died it just… dissolved. Into the ground. I believe that Skyflower ran into a creature like that one and thought she was seeing demons.”

 

Shadestar stared down at Fireflower. “What did it look like?”

 

“It had a lot of legs, ma’am, and it was very round. Ugly as sin, I’d say. The noises it made were deafening, too. Sunpaw and Spikeclaw defeated it by yanking off all of its legs.”

 

The words hung heavy in the air, and Sunpaw wanted to run away in embarrassment. Here they were, two cats from another clan bringing ShadeClan their dead warrior, and all they had to say was that a demon got her. 

 

Sunpaw braced herself to get cursed out, attacked, and then driven out of ShadeClan territory with the promise that their colonies would never be friends again. 

 

Instead, Shadestar leaned forward even more, eyes widening. A fearful murmur rose up behind Sunpaw, the crowd of cats whispering fearfully to one another. 

 

 _They know something we don’t,_ Sunpaw thought. 

 

“... I see. Thank you, Fireflower, Sunpaw, for bringing our dead warrior home. I’ll have a couple of my cats escort you to the border,” Shadestar told them tonelessly. The clan leader looked like she countless forest-lengths away in another world. 

 

Out of the corner of her eye, Sunpaw caught movement. A small brown head poked out of the nursery, hazel eyes wide. Their gazes locked. 

 

Fireflower was saying something else, to which Hunter responded, and then Sunpaw felt Fireflower nudge her shoulder. She blinked and looked away from Rabbitpaw. Something in her mind felt all fizzled out. 

 

When a few ShadeClan warriors Sunpaw had no names for led her and Fireflower back out of the sandy hollow, all Sunpaw could think about was that this was the beginning of something great and terrible. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dudes! Thanks so much for waiting. Most of my writer's block seems to have vanished, so have this to celebrate. 
> 
>  
> 
> My thought process while writing this chapter was:
> 
> Newtpaw: *being Newtpaw*
> 
> Sunpaw: What is that?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT???!!!!


	6. Chapter 6

The day after Skyflower died was gray and rainy, as if even the heavens for which the young warrior was named were mourning her. All of ShadeClan grieved. From what Puddlefoot told her they hadn’t lost a cat since early winter, which was why everybody was acting so out of sorts. Even Mousepaw and Mistpaw, usually the most energetic cats in the forest, were quiet and didn’t so much as try and pounce on an elder’s tail. Rabbitpaw hadn’t known Skyflower that well, other than that she was a bit of a bully sometimes. But she had still been her clanmate. 

 

It was also really sad to see Littlefang drag himself around camp like his sister’s death had taken the life out of him as well, only leaving the warriors’ den for mandatory patrols and to relieve himself. She had tried to talk to him after Skyflower was buried, but he just ignored her and went back to his nest. 

 

“A  _ jinor  _ got her for sure,” Rabbitpaw overheard Duskflower tell another elder, a tom called Smog. It was the middle of the day and she had woken up to her bladder reminding her that she had drank a lot of rainwater before she went to sleep. “There’s no way it could have been anything else.”

 

“Raccoon with the foaming sickness. C’mon, old girl, they’re  _ stories.” _

 

“If it had been something with the foaming sickness Fireflower would have told us! Her description of a  _ jinor  _ was too accurate. Besides, they don’t know the Guides and our legends…”

 

Their conversation dropped into sharp whispers too faint for Rabbitpaw to discern, even when she focused as hard as she could. She would have waited around to see if they would start talking normally again, but her bladder pinged again, and she reluctantly slipped out of the nursery. Puddlefoot had returned to warrior duties after his kits were made apprentices, so she had been alone for the past few nights. 

 

Keeping quiet, she snuck up one of the trails that led up out of the hollow and into the forest. Only when the early-spring foliage obscured the hollow did she let herself walk normally. 

Shadestar had told her that she wasn’t allowed out of the hollow without permission under any circumstances. But Rabbitpaw really didn’t want to wake anybody up just because she had to pee, that would be totally embarrassing. She was already being a drag on ShadeClan just by existing. Maybe, if she was lucky, a demon would get her too. 

 

Rabbitpaw peed on a fern and wondered if she would be able to visit Acornpaw and Newtpaw in the apprentices’ den and get away with it. Mushroom and Cedarfur were tough mentors, she knew, and her littermates hadn’t been able to hang out with her since she got punished. She hoped they missed her. 

 

Just as she was about to head back to the nursery, a gust of wind blew through the trees and pelted her with cold raindrops, but then the clouds parted just enough to let sunlight beam down on her. The warmth soaked into her, chasing away the chill. 

 

For a moment, Rabbitpaw closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the sunlight. If she pretended hard enough, she could almost believe that everything was gonna be okay again. 

 

Unfortunately, it ended before she could take a third breath. Her eyes flew open in time to see the patch of sunlight racing away from her across the forest floor. 

 

The wind blew again, this time from behind. 

 

Rabbitpaw looked to the sky.  _ Aquilo? Is that you again? _

 

She was almost certain that the traveler-god had helped her find TideClan when she got lost. Was this his way of trying to help her once more? 

 

… Well. There was only one way to find out. 

 

Glancing back in the direction of the hollow, Rabbitpaw hesitated, but turned and took off with the wind at her back. 

 

<>

 

Alternating between a brisk walk and running, Rabbitpaw let herself be guided towards the west. The cold stopped bothering her before long, and the rain let up soon after that. Her heart felt lighter than it had in a long time. If the wind took her away from ShadeClan forever, she thought with a twinge of guilt, maybe she wouldn’t mind. 

 

But maybe that’s what she was supposed to do? Rabbitpaw slowed just as the realization dawned on her. Sandstar told her that if she wanted to defeat the evil that had come into the mortal world, then she would have to leave home. Rainpaw said the same thing. 

 

Her whole head felt like it was going to fall off with everything she was trying to make sense of. She wanted to go. She didn’t want to go. She was scared and she was restless. 

 

A breeze washed over her, chilly, and brought with it the smell of cats. 

 

Rabbitpaw nearly jumped out of her pelt before she realized she was at the border of ShadeClan territory, and what she was smelling was the scent markers. Rustyclaw, Oaktail, Frog, and Rocky had been here, if her nose served her right. 

 

Voices drifted from across no-cat’s land, and this time she  _ did _ jump. Thinking fast, she dove into a bush just as a long trail of cats came into view, all huge and long-haired. 

 

The warrior in the front was Brightclaw, the pale ginger tom, with another gray tom following him-- Oceansong, she remembered. Behind Oceansong was a gray-and-white molly Rabbitpaw forgot the name for, some brown-and-white male tabby she didn’t know, and…

 

_ Sunpaw.  _

 

The big yellow molly looked bone-tired, muddy paws nearly dragging in the dirt and her bushy tail doing a fine job of picking up what looked like every pine needle, bristle, and burr in the forest. A small twig was ensnared in the fluff on her rear. 

 

For some reason, Rabbitpaw stood from her hiding place just as Sunpaw passed her. 

 

Sunpaw did a double-take, blinking furiously like her eyes were playing tricks on her. Just like they had at camp, they stared at each other for what felt like a whole moon, with Rabbitpaw feeling like there was some connection they instinctively knew about but had no idea where it came from. 

 

Sunpaw’s mouth opened. Rabbitpaw stiffened, just  _ knowing _ that the TideClan apprentice was going to alert the rest of the patrol. 

 

Instead, she called out: “Don’t wait for me, I have to shit.”

 

The gray-and-white molly said something about language, but the patrol moved on. As soon as the tabby’s striped tail disappeared into the brush, Sunpaw fell back, checked to see if the patrol wasn’t returning, and bolted across the border into no-cat’s land. She was amazingly fast for her size, and before Rabbitpaw could even back up she was suddenly in front of her, burning amber eyes staring into Rabbitpaw’s soul and ears pinned back. 

 

“You,” was the first thing she said. 

 

“Uh,” Rabbitpaw replied, stunned that Sunpaw actually broke away from her patrol to come see her, and lied while doing it, no less. 

 

“What do you know about a prophecy? I had a dream when I returned last night and a StarClan warrior told me you would be in one as well.”

 

It said a lot about her life that Rabbitpaw wasn’t even surprised by another apprentice stating that a StarClan warrior had come into her dreams. 

 

“I just…” Her voice was a little hoarse from disuse, and she coughed to clear her throat. “A TideClan leader named Sandstar came to me the same day I stayed in TideClan. She said I and two others would go north, to the mountains-”

 

“And to the sea,” Sunpaw finished, brows loosening. There were shadows underneath her eyes. “I didn’t meet anybody named Sandstar, though. She said her name was Sunmist. I think she was Stormstar’s mother, the clan leader before Eaglestar.”

 

“Did she tell you something about an evil needing to be put back into… somewhere?” Rabbitpaw’s hackles bristled at the thought. 

 

“... She did. But I can’t leave. I’m about to be made a warrior,” Sunpaw growled, ears flattening back. 

 

“I don’t know if we have a choice. My friend Rainpaw said that bad things happen to people who defy fate,” she managed to say. “If the thing that killed Skyflower comes back, if somebody else gets killed…”

 

Sunpaw growled again, deep in her chest, and started pacing. Rabbitpaw backed up to give her space, and also to avoid getting whacked by her lashing tail. She really hoped Sunpaw wasn’t going to beat her up for saying what she just said. 

 

Somebody called out in the distance, and the pale molly froze. Rabbitpaw backed up against a tree that bordered ShadeClan territory. 

 

Several heartbeats of silence passed. 

 

Abruptly, Sunpaw turned to look back down at her. “Meet me here at midday tomorrow. We’ll talk more then.”

 

Before Rabbitpaw could reply, Sunpaw took off down the rise and vanished into the undergrowth, fur glowing gold in the cloudy daylight. 

 

<>

 

As it turned out, sneaking back into camp proved to be more of a problem than sneaking  _ out _ of it. 

 

Hunter was sitting outside the nursery when Rabbitpaw peered down over the edge of the hollow. He obviously knew that she was gone, as his ears were pinned back in annoyance as he kept glancing around the still-deserted camp. Rabbitpaw’s stomach rolled with anxiety as she imagined what other embarrassing punishment her parents would give her for running away again. It was possible, however, that Hunter had just noticed her absence. 

 

Taking a deep breath, she skidded down the gully, wincing when snowmelt soaked into the fur on her paws. 

 

Hunter turned at the sound she made and flicked his tail in displeasure. “And where have you been?”

 

“Had to make dirt. Ate a bad mouse.” Her heart pounded in her chest as she desperately hoped her father wouldn’t catch her lie, nearly the same one Sunpaw had given. 

 

“Without an adult with you, as ordered by Shadestar,” Hunter added coolly. 

 

Her retort was out of her mouth before she could think twice. “If the most important thing this clan has to do is follow me into the woods whenever I have to do my business, then maybe I should just save everybody the trouble and shit right in our noble leader’s den!”

 

The new curse word felt incredible on her tongue, like sneaking an extra piece of prey when nobody was looking.

 

Hunter’s eyes blew wide in shock. His jaw dropped just a couple of hairs. For the first time, Rabbitpaw saw her calm and passive father struck dumb. 

 

She was full of pride and battle jitters for the time it took for a songbird to chirp. 

 

Like watching a cloud cover the sun, Hunter’s whole body seemed to darken, tail whipping back and forth in anger and eyes narrowed to slits. 

 

“You talk about your own mother when you talk about our ‘noble leader’,” the tom hissed. “Rabbitpaw, you owe her an apology for that remark. You’ve gotten completely out of control, and while your mother and I are to blame for letting you run wild as a kitten, it is  _ you  _ who needs to learn it’s time to grow up!”

 

“You won’t  _ let  _ me grow up! How am I supposed to when I’m not even allowed to leave the nursery anymore?” Rabbitpaw screeched. 

 

“This is something you need to learn from!” 

 

_ “How? _ Tell me, for all the Guides’  _ sakes!” _

 

“By thinking about who you are, and then  _ changing  _ it!”

 

The fury died in her belly. As the words echoed around in her head, her throat tightened, and she felt like she was being choked out. “So you don’t like me. I think I understand now.”

 

Hunter blinked, stunned. “Rabbitpaw-”

 

Numb all over, Rabbitpaw backed away from him and dove into the nursery. The cold stone of the river-made cave was freezing, even through her winter-thick pelt, but she wriggled hard against the far back wall to get away from the rest of the world. She wanted to go down, down, down into the stone, and never come back up. 

 

<>

 

Nobody came to get her until the sun went down. Between the world of waking and sleep, she felt the familiar warmth of her siblings squishing in on either side of her, with Acornpaw’s tail draping over her back and Newtpaw’s muscular shoulders pressing against her left flank. Rabbitpaw wanted to talk with them, but before she could open her mouth to speak she was dreaming once more. 

 

She was far above the forest, far enough to see the gray-green ocean in the distance and the silver-sky line that the horizon created when it met the water. Then she was flying without a body, because when she looked down she couldn’t see her paws, over valleys and strange gray blocky places with black paths running through them. Further and further she went until mountains were racing past her, the moon and the sun trading places in the heavens faster than the blink of an eye-

 

A throbbing pain in the top of her skull was the first thing that greeted Rabbitpaw when she startled awake. She was aware of flailing about, a strangled squeal erupting from somewhere that was definitely not her, and then she was standing at the back of the nursery. Faint white sunlight was streaming in at an angle, and she realized that it was almost morning. 

 

Soon, she would have to leave to meet Sunpaw. 

 

Her stomach twisted with hunger, but she didn’t dare go ask for food. With a newfound patience that would have made even the elders proud, Rabbitpaw waited until she heard everybody go to sleep. Only when the angle of light changed dramatically did she dare to creep to the entrance to scope things out. 

 

She glanced up to her parents’ den on the cliff. If they were still awake then she saw no sign of them moving about in the darkness. 

 

As far as she could tell, the coast was clear. 

 

Rabbitpaw took a deep breath to steady her nerves and crept out of the nursery, slinking low to the ground in what she hoped was a decent hunter’s stalk. Just like before, she scooted up and out of the hollow before taking off into the forest. 

 

The day-warm breeze felt incredible over her pelt as she pushed herself into a hard gallop. Despite the soreness in her legs from the previous sneaking-out session, the tabby molly felt like she could sprint down the entire shoreline and back without breaking a sweat, or at least until she tried to clear a creek in a single bound and nearly went for an unplanned swim. After that, Rabbitpaw decided a brisk jog would be nicer. 

 

Just as the sun made it to the highest point in the sky, or what looked like its highest point behind all of the clouds, Rabbitpaw made it to the border. When a good couple of sniffs gave away no trace of Sunpaw she hesitantly crossed into no-cat’s land, becoming increasingly nervous that the TideClan apprentice hadn’t made it, or worse, changed her mind.

 

_ She’s the second cat of the prophecy, _ Rabbitpaw told herself.  _ She has to come.  _

 

Then again, Sunpaw didn’t seem like the kind of cat who let others tell her what to do, especially if they were already dead. 

 

Rabbitpaw wondered if she could risk a quick trip to the TideClan border to check if Sunpaw had left her scent there, but before she could a soft hiss made her hackles stand on end. 

 

She turned around, ready to face her opponent, but found… nothing?

 

“Psst. Psst!  _ Rabbitpaw!” _

 

Rabbitpaw looked up the giant spruce tree she was hiding at the base of, startled. There, in the needled boughs, she saw a flash of pale gold. “Sunpaw?”

 

“Come on up!”

 

Tentatively, she placed a paw on the rough bark of the tree before remembering she had no idea how to climb. “Um, I don’t know how.”

 

An exasperated growl reached her ears. There was the sound of shuffling and a couple of swaying limbs, and then Sunpaw’s familiar bulk dropped from cover and on to a lower branch. She somehow balanced perfectly on it despite the width of the branch being less than a half of a paw, staring down at Rabbitpaw in accusation. 

 

“So, do I just…” Rabbitpaw began, and Sunpaw nodded. 

 

“Grab with your front claws and push with your back. Keep at least two sets of paws on the tree and all times and  _ don’t _ look down,” she instructed, unsheathing her own claws to dig into her perch. Amber eyes glinted in the shadows. 

 

Swallowing down her fear, Rabbitpaw grabbed the bark and hauled herself up. Just like Sunpaw had instructed her to do, she pushed with her back claws and pulled with her front, and quite soon she was nearly to Sunpaw’s branch. 

 

She reached out for a bough right next to Sunpaw and nearly fell with an undignified squeal, which caused Sunpaw to hiss at her to be quiet. Fangs sank into her scruff. Rabbitpaw immediately relaxed, even though she didn’t mean to, as she was lifted to safety. 

 

As soon as she got a good grip on her branch she flashed a sheepish grin at Sunpaw. “Thanks. Big help.”

 

Sunpaw didn’t look impressed. “Yeah. Anything new?”

 

“Uh…” Rabbitpaw remembered her really weird dream. “I had a dream that I was flying north, over mountains and weird gray blocky places… other than that, no.”

 

“Great. Nothing at my end, either. When are we leaving?”

 

Rabbitpaw blinked, staring at Sunpaw as she tried to wrap her head around that question. “Wait, since when do want to leave? I thought you wanted to put it off until you got your warrior name-”

 

“Change of plans,” Sunpaw interrupted. She was staring off into the distance, stoic and unreadable as ever. “I’m ready whenever.”

 

Well, that certainly changed things. Rabbitpaw began to prepare an excuse to delay their departure- talking to Rainpaw one last time about StarClan and the Guides or whatever, or hanging out with her siblings, because who knew when she’d be back, but nothing truly significant came up. If she tried to speak with Rainpaw he’d most likely try and involve other people, like her parents, which would of course be out of the goodness of his own heart, but then there would be no way she’d ever be able to leave camp again. 

 

And her parents, well. Her father had made it pretty clear as to what they thought of her. 

 

“... Me too, I guess.” She looked down at her paws, which turned out to be a mistake when she realized the ground was  _ way _ farther down than she expected. “Yeah. We can leave right now if you want.”

 

“We should do that, then,” Sunpaw agreed. She turned to look out through the canopy, where Rabbitpaw remembered the TideClan camp was. Maybe it was the light playing tricks on her eyes, but she could have sworn Sunpaw relaxed, just a little. Was she thinking about her family? Why did she want to leave all of the sudden?

 

_ What a weird molly.  _

 

With a huff, Sunpaw turned and leapt off her branch before skidding down the trunk to the forest floor. She looked up at Rabbitpaw expectantly, and when it became clear Rabbitpaw would need help again she just sighed. “Butt first. Use your front claws to hang on and the back claws to control your speed.”

 

Rabbitpaw obeyed and scooted on down, praying to Aquilo to not send another gust of wind. Thankfully, none came, and she made it to the ground safely. 

  
  


“Okay, here we go,” she wheezed in relief, digging her now worn-down claws into the leaves and soil. “Much better.”

 

“Have you seriously never been in a tree before?” Sunpaw demanded, brows raised. 

 

“Why should I? I don’t have a tail. How am I gonna keep my balance with no tail?” Rabbitpaw shot back. 

Sunpaw scratched her chin with one long talon. “... Fair point.”

 

“Uh-huh. C’mon, we’ll take no-cat’s land out of the clan territories-”

 

Rabbitpaw would have continued to elaborate their escape plan to Sunpaw, but both mollies were stopped dead in their tracks by a lean gray form leaping out from a bush. Green eyes were narrowed with anger. 

 

“And where the hell do you think  _ you’re _ going?” Littlefang demanded. 

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

Considering the fact that Sunpaw was still an apprentice, she probably should have been alarmed by the sight of a fully trained warrior confronting her and Rabbitpaw. Even if he tried to order Rabbitpaw to come back to the ShadeClan camp and she refused, he could still probably outrun them both and go tell Shadestar that her idiot daughter was out in the forest again, and of course Shadestar would tell Eaglestar, and the one cat who had never given up on her would finally see that she was a total lost cause. 

 

Despite all that, though, Sunpaw couldn’t manage any sense of concern other than a deep, bone-grating annoyance. 

 

She had been plagued with nightmares of hellish creatures coming to tear both ShadeClan and TideClan apart since Skyflower died, resulting in her third or fourth day in a row that she had barely slept. On top of that, she was one of two cats to have fought a demon-creature, and therefore was put on nearly every patrol in case they came across another one. Then, just this morning, she dreamed of a StarClan queen named Sunmist. 

 

_ “You and two others will go north, to the mountains and then to the sea. Something has broken free from a most unholy place, and it will be up to you three to return it,” _ the spirit told her. Eyes that burned like white fire seared into Sunpaw’s mind. 

 

_ “The thing that killed Skyflower,” _ Sunpaw rasped, feeling salt on her tongue from simply being so close to a being of pure energy. 

 

_ “Yes, and many others. Reality itself has been torn open under thousands of season cycles of stress, and unless it can be fixed, it will be the end of both clans.” _

 

Sunpaw didn’t really know what Sunmist was talking about, but she did know that something was horribly wrong, and it was up to her to fix it. She woke up knowing but not quite accepting this. 

 

Then, Spikeclaw called her  _ son.  _ In front of the whole clan. 

 

There wasn’t a huge fight or anything. She hadn’t lashed out at Spikeclaw or anybody else. It was like the last of her willpower and energy had just rushed out of her like the air from her chest. She had nothing left to give, not even having the strength to bare her fangs in retaliation after such a blatant insult. 

 

So instead she just… left. 

 

And now here she was, face-to-face with some puffed-up prick who was going to ruin everything. It wasn’t like anything  _ good _ could ever happen in her life, no, of  _ course _ not.  

 

“Littlefang, I can explain,” Rabbitpaw pleaded. “StarClan told me I  _ have _ to leave. They want me and Sunpaw to stop the things that killed Skyflower.”

 

“You-they, what? Are you  _ insane?  _ You seriously want me to believe that a bunch of spirits chose two kits to defeat some monsters?” Littlefang snarled. 

 

“Yes! I’ve had these dreams-” Rabbitpaw tried to say, but the tom called Littlefang was already shaking his head, growling in frustration. 

 

“No. Absolutely not. I don’t know what games you’re playing, Rabbitpaw, but you’re already in enough trouble as it is! If there really are supernatural creatures running around in the living world like Fireflower said then you already have put our lives at risk. You’re coming home with me,  _ right now.” _ Littlefang glared down at the smaller tabby, ears flattened against his head, before turning to Sunpaw. 

 

“Everything she said is true. I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t been having the same dreams she has,” Sunpaw hissed before he could speak, rising to all fours. “We’re leaving to save the clans, as StarClan decreed. Do you really want more cats to die like your sister did?”

 

At once, she knew she had said the wrong thing. Rabbitpaw gasped as Littlefang’s pupils blew out in rage. With a screech that nearly deafened her, Littlefang lunged at Sunpaw with unsheathed claws. 

 

Sunpaw scrambled back as he slammed into her chest, knocking her off balance and sending them both into the dirt. The ShadeClan warrior clawed and bit her all over, hard enough to feel even through her winter-thick coat, and she yowled in pain when Littlefang latched on to her left ear and  _ pulled.  _

 

Warmth spread down the side of her face. Sunpaw spat out some of the blood that got into her mouth into Littlefang’s eyes. He reared back, spewing profanity, giving Sunpaw the time she needed to pull back her hind legs and launch the gray tabby a good fox-length into the air. The shocked wheeze he made was very satisfying, but the  _ thud _ of his body hitting the ground was even better. 

 

“Littlefang, Sunpaw!  _ Stop it!” _ Rabbitpaw screamed. The little molly looked horrified, frantically glancing between the two of them. She charged forward, pelt bristling, to put herself in between Sunpaw and Littlefang. 

 

“What are you doing? Get out of the way!” Sunpaw snapped. 

 

“Stop fighting!”

 

“What do you mean,  _ stop fighting? _ He attacked me!” 

 

“They probably heard us at the other end of the forest, that’s why! We need to go,” Rabbitpaw insisted. 

 

_ She’s right, _ Sunpaw thought with no small amount of irritance. 

 

A loud groan announced Littlefang’s successful attempt to get back on his feet. He wasn’t bleeding, much to Sunpaw’s disappointment, but the way he stumbled towards them would have to be enough for now. His stomach was going to be badly bruised. 

 

“You… oversized… piece of…  _ gull shit,” _ he got out. 

 

Sunpaw wiped blood off her cheek and shook it from her toes. “Let’s go, Rabbitpaw.”

 

With a guilty look behind her, Rabbitpaw reluctantly trailed off after Sunpaw. They only made it a couple steps before Littlefang called after them. 

 

“Hey!  _ Hey! _ I’m not finished with you!”

 

Sunpaw rolled her eyes to the heavens and kept walking. 

 

The only warning she got was the barely audible sound of leaves rustling as Littlefang kicked off the forest floor. Everything happened very quickly after that. 

 

Rabbitpaw yelped just as Sunpaw turned to face her attacker. Littlefang sailed right over the smaller tabby, lips peeled back to reveal sharp white incisors. Just as he came within striking distance, Sunpaw reared up on her back legs, sheathed her claws, and backhanded Littlefang as hard as she possibly could. 

 

He crumpled into a heap at her paws. This time, he did not get back up. 

 

Rabbitpaw squealed and rushed to Littlefang’s side. “Oh, Guides, you killed him!”

 

“No, I didn’t. It takes a lot more force than that to snap a cat’s neck. Look, he’s breathing,” Sunpaw told her, putting a paw on a gray flank to feel the slight rise and fall of his sides. Rabbitpaw did the same, hazel eyes wide with apprehension, but when she felt him exhale some of the tension drained out of her shoulders. “Alright? Alright. Let’s go before any other friends of yours show up.”

 

“We can’t just leave him here! What if the thing that killed Skyflower comes back?” Rabbitpaw asked worriedly.

 

“He’s pretty skinny. Not much of a meal, if you ask me.”

 

_ “Sunpaw!” _

 

“Fine, fine. Look, midday patrol is going to come through any moment now. They’ll find him and bring him back to your camp. Happy?”

 

As luck would have it, voices rang out in the distance just as Sunpaw finished her sentence. For once, she was glad Thornfang and Doetuft, the sisters, had been put on a patrol together. Those two could talk the ears off a clam. 

 

“... Yeah.” Rabbitpaw nodded. Without another word, they took off down no-cat’s land, leaving Littlefang and the clans behind. 

<> 

By the time they made it out of the territories, the shadows had lengthened, just a little. The sun came out from behind rain-heavy clouds and promptly dove back behind cover. Thankfully, there had been no rain so far, but Sunpaw knew that meant it would most likely rain that night. 

“Any ideas as to how we’re going to find these mountains? I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen any mountains other than some at the other end of ShadeClan territory,” Rabbitpaw complained. 

_ Does it look like I know where the stupid mountains are? _ Sunpaw bit her tongue to avoid snapping at the other apprentice. “No clue. Weren’t you the one to have that weird dream where you flew over the land like a falcon?”

“Yeah. Doesn’t mean I know where we’re going other than north.”

“Then that’s what we’re doing. Also, why are you a whole cat’s length behind me? Keep up or shut up.”

 

“I have short legs, okay?” she grumbled, picking up the pace a little to trot by Sunpaw’s side. Tall ears pinned back in annoyance. 

_ Good. Irritating little brat.  _

Sunpaw let herself despise Rabbitpaw for a short moment before moving on to more important things. They did need a plan, after all. 

“So, here’s what we’re going to do. We head into the twoleg colony and find a friend of TideClan’s; she’s friendly and will let us sleep in her garden. Her name is Lola. If any of her associates are in the area, we can ask them if they know anything about mountains. We head out before dawn tomorrow. Got it?” 

Rabbitpaw perked up at the mention of sleep, but then her hazel eyes darkened in worry. “Two problems. Don’t twolegs hate cats that don’t live with them? What if they see us?”

Sunpaw let herself feel a twinge of pride at being more knowledgeable than the ShadeClan apprentice. “Twolegs _ love  _ us, Rabbitpaw. Eaglestar was a housecat, and his twoleg treated him and all the other cats he ever met like gods.” 

“That’s not what my parents taught me. They said twolegs will run you over with their metal monsters, and throw stuff at you, and send their dogs after you-”

“Rabbitpaw. TideClan wouldn’t have kept contact with Lola if her twolegs posed any threat to us. We’ll be fine. What was your other concern?”

The little tabby swallowed. “There are some cats that might not take too kindly to us being there. Cats that used to be part of my mother’s colony probably won’t mind us visiting, but there was another gang that  _ she _ used to try and wipe both of our clans out.”

“She? You mean Red-”

It was Rabbitpaw’s turn to interrupt with a frantic hiss.  _ “Don’t say her name! _ Names have power, Sunpaw. I’ve heard stories of cats who invoked evil spirits, even if the spirits were already in hell, and then nobody ever hears from the living cats again!”

“People only have power if you give it to them. It doesn’t matter whether they’re good or bad,” Sunpaw scoffed. 

“Maybe that’s how you do it in TideClan, but in the forest we don’t speak about people who did harm in their time in the mortal realm. The sooner they’re gone from all our memories, the better.”

Sunpaw zoned out towards the end of her little tirade. “Fine. TideClan had a scuffle or two with them over the winter, actually, so we’ll keep a low profile until we leave the twoleg colony in case we meet cats who don’t like us. Got it.”

“Exactly.”

A fence came into view not a few steps later, with houses spaced out every few tree-lengths along the border. Signaling for Rabbitpaw to follow her, Sunpaw got a running start and leapt up onto the fence. With a grunt, Rabbitpaw managed to hook her claws over the edge, but the rest of her body collided with the wood that audibly knocked the wind out of her. Trying not to laugh, Sunpaw busied herself with looking out into twoleg territory. 

“So, where-oof! Where is this Lola?” Rabbitpaw huffed, slightly out of breath. 

Sunpaw glanced up at the fiery orb for which she was named and did a bit of math. She wasn’t very good at it, but she could count to ten and figure out which direction she was facing by using the sun or moon. “It should be to the southeast. We’ll make it before sundown.”

 

The ShadeClan apprentice stared out over the neat little blocks of early-spring grass, the strange uniformity of the twoleg houses, wrinkling her nose as the breeze blew the scent of the road over to them. Sunpaw didn’t blame her. She remembered the first time Eaglestar brought her to the twoleg colony to deal with the rogues that had been harassing the former members of Shadestar’s colony. Unfortunately, she didn’t get to see any action, but she did get a taste of what living was like in such a strange settlement. 

 

Leaping down from the fence, she kept to the bushes that separated one grass block from another, Rabbitpaw right behind her. When they got as close to the road as they could without leaving the shelter of the bushes, she stopped and motioned with her muzzle for Rabbitpaw to come up beside her. Wide-eyed, the tabby obeyed. 

 

“That stretch of dark gray rock is what twolegs drive their cars on. Don’t ever stay on it for longer than you need to. The twolegs control the cars, and they’ll try to stop if they see you, but that doesn’t always happen,” Sunpaw explained quietly. 

 

“What do they look like? My parents said they’re big and shiny, but that’s about it,” Rabbitpaw asked. 

 

“We’ll see one soon. Twolegs love their cars. The coast is clear, so we’re going to cross now. Ready?”

 

“Oh, gods. Yeah.”

“One, two, three-!”

Sunpaw pushed herself out of the crouch she had been in and leapt out from the bushes. In just a few strides she was already at the edge of the road. She jumped off the short drop that led down to the rock and landed in a full sprint, aiming for some big leafy plants against the side of a house that could shelter both her and Rabbitpaw. The shorter molly’s panicked gasps followed her all the way to the plants, fear-scent crackling over her pelt. 

 

The pair sat in silence for a bit, only broken by the sound of Rabbitpaw’s hyperventilating. She looked completely overwhelmed. 

 

“I was scared my first time too, you know,” Sunpaw told her, not knowing how she was supposed to help the younger apprentice out. This part of the twoleg colony was probably the most peaceful she’d ever seen the place.  _ What would Eaglestar say? _

 

“It’s just… a l-lot. This whole place is scary,” Rabbitpaw muttered, voice trembling. 

 

“Can you keep going?”

 

“Um, yeah. Just, let me,” Rabbitpaw wheezed out. Sucking in air like she had just come up from a deep dive, she pressed her forehead into the dirt and took a couple more deep breaths. This process was repeated two more times before Rabbitpaw was able to get back up. 

 

Dipping her head, Sunpaw led the way across another road. When they reached the other side, a familiar roar heralded the appearance of a car. 

 

“That’s a car,” she told a stiff-legged Rabbitpaw. 

 

The huge monster drew closer as they backed up away from the road. Its weird rolling paws carried it at a relatively slow pace for its kind, the twoleg inside it glancing at them curiously as she and Rabbitpaw watched it pass. The noise was tremendous, and Sunpaw’s ears rung even after it disappeared around a turn in the road. 

 

Rabbitpaw made a squeaking sound not unlike a mouse being bitten. “I-I didn’t, you didn’t tell me they were that  _ big,  _ Sunpaw.”

 

Sunpaw sighed. “They’re  _ fine. _ Just bulky and loud. C’mon, one more to go and then we’ll be in Lola’s neighborhood.”

“... What’s a neighborhood?”

 

“It’s where twolegs build their houses close to each other and sort of… all live together, if that makes sense. It’s like a colony within a colony.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Crossing the last road was less eventful. Remembering which house was just a few tree-lengths away from Lola’s, Sunpaw cut across two more grass blocks before spotting a familiar white fence. 

 

“Why do twolegs like fences so much?” Rabbitpaw wondered absently, still a bit frazzled from crossing the roads. 

 

“Eaglestar said it’s because they can’t mark their territories like we do, so they have to use barriers to protect their land.” Sunpaw jumped on up to see if Lola was outside and nearly fell when her claws failed to get a good grip. The fence was made of some material that was both hard and slippery.  _ “Damn. _ Be careful coming up! This thing isn’t made of wood.”

 

Rabbitpaw scrambled up to perch beside her, crouching awkwardly to balance. The little stub of her tail flicked back and forth. “So where’s this Lola?”

 

Before Sunpaw could respond with something smart, a loud yell almost sent Rabbitpaw flinching right off the fence. A blur of orange raced around from behind the other side of the house, tail sticking straight up in greeting. 

 

She almost hissed at it before she realized it was a housecat, and a soft, friendly-looking one at that. He smelled like a tom, except the smell was much fainter than she would expect, probably because of a twoleg’s odor all over his bright ginger pelt. A blue collar adorned his plump neck, with some shiny trinket hanging from the front that jingled as he cheerfully pranced up to them. 

 

It was the strange ears that helped her remember. What had Eaglestar called him? A  _ Scottish Fold, _ right? 

 

“Hello, Biscuit,” Sunpaw called down. 

 

Biscuit lit up even more when he heard his name. “Ohmygods,  _ hi! _ I thought I smelled a TideClan cat, and look who it is! Eaglestar’s apprentice, right?”

 

Sunpaw blinked in surprise. “Eaglestar... told you about me?”

 

“He sure did! I’ve heard cats talk less enthusiastically about their own kits. Sunpaw this and Sunpaw that, she’s such an incredible young cat, I have to bring her to meet you guys someday! Come on down, both of you. Tabby girl, what do they call you?” 

 

“Um, Rabbitpaw,” Rabbitpaw said, relaxing when she seemed to understand that Biscuit would be the last thing to pose any danger to them. She dropped down into the grass. “I’m from the other colony, ShadeClan.”

 

The round orange tom put a paw over his chest. “Oh  _ yeah, _ I heard about the new gang in the woods. Talk about stray cat drama, amiright? Let me go get Lola, you two want to see her, I’m guessing?” 

 

“Yeah, that would be great! Thanks,” Rabbitpaw chirped. 

 

“Be right back!” Biscuit called over his shoulder, already bounding away back the way he came. The shiny thing on his collar made a racket until he disappeared from eyeshot. 

 

“It’s super cute that Eaglestar likes talking about you,” Rabbitpaw offered. 

Sunpaw had been at a complete loss for words the moment Biscuit mentioned that the leader of her clan thought she was an “incredible young cat”. Did Eaglestar really think that highly of her? He had to just have been talking about her fighting skills. No other aspect of her being could possibly warrant such praise. 

 

“Yeah, it is,” she rasped. Then, she remembered why she was here in the first place, and her stomach fell down to her paws.  _ I didn’t even tell him goodbye.  _

 

Rabbitpaw, much to her dismay, seemed to pick up on her inner turmoil. “Do you… wanna talk about it?”

 

“No!” she snapped. 

 

The ShadeClan apprentice looked disappointed and a little hurt, and Sunpaw had never been more relieved to see two housecats finally trot around the side of their twoleg’s den. 

 

Like her friend, Lola was plump and cheerful. Her face and pelt were completely free of scars. Sunpaw stared enviously at her small paws and narrow muzzle.  _ If I looked like that, would people have an easier time calling me a molly?  _

 

“Welcome!” Lola purred, but Sunpaw easily picked out the concern lingering in her golden eyes. It was the same look Fireflower had whenever she got wind of one of the apprentices hurting themselves. “What brings you two here, hm?”

 

Two heartbeats of silence, and then-

 

“Don’t tell our parents!” 

 

Sunpaw turned to stare incredulously at Rabbitpaw, who was quivering in fear. “Are you serious?  _ That’s  _ the first thing you say?”

 

“I-I’m sorry!”

 

“You’ll be sorry when I kick your ass all the way to StarClan-”

 

“A-hem,” a different voice chimed in. 

 

Slowly, Sunpaw and Rabbitpaw turned to face Lola and Biscuit, the latter looking increasingly uncomfortable with the tension in the air. 

 

Lola daintily folded herself into the grass and gazed at the two mollies and Biscuit until they did the same. “Now. If we could discuss your problem like normal people.”

 

“Rabbitpaw and I need to leave the clans for a short time to… investigate a potential threat,” Sunpaw began. “We were wondering if you two know anybody who might have an idea as to where a mountain range is?”

 

Biscuit scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Mountains? I’ve got a buddy who’s been around; he lives just down the road. Used to be a stray. He’d be the guy you’re looking for.”

 

“You just want an excuse to see your sweetheart,” Lola accused, but she shoved Biscuit playfully, who gasped in indignation. 

 

“I do not! Chuck’s just the smartest cat I know! And the bravest…” Biscuit trailed off when Sunpaw gave him the driest look she could muster. “But yeah. I’ll take you to him.”

 

“Really? Thank you!” Rabbitpaw squeaked, leaping to her feet. 

 

“We appreciate your time,” Sunpaw added, making a show of calmly sitting up and ignoring Rabbitpaw. 

 

“Hey, it’s no problem,” Biscuit assured, getting up to stretch and then licking his chops in anticipation. “We’ll head on down in just a bit. Right now, it’s dinnertime!”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Okay, Biscuit's just a helpful and supportive side character. 
> 
> Me, to me: Make him a flamboyant gay hunk icon. 
> 
> Me: Why?
> 
> Me, to me: You gotta


	8. Chapter 8

Rabbitpaw balked as Biscuit and Lola trotted up the stone path that led to the twoleg house. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sunpaw do the same, tufted ears flattening back as the huge molly regarded the flappy-thing Biscuit had just jumped through. 

 

“You want us to go… in there?” Rabbitpaw asked. 

 

Lola looked back at them, one paw already through the entrance. “Aren’t you two hungry? You both smell like you haven’t eaten since early morning.”

 

It had been earlier than that for Rabbitpaw, but yeah, she was definitely hungry. Her head was beginning to feel fuzzy and her gut felt like a gaping maw into the void itself. Keeping up with Sunpaw on the way here had taken every bit of resolve she had. 

 

“We wouldn’t… won’t your twolegs not want us in their den?” Sunpaw questioned, shifting her weight to all four paws. At this, Rabbitpaw nervously shifted closer to her.  _ Didn’t she just say twolegs like us? _

 

“It’s just one twoleg now. Her mate died over the winter,” Lola corrected, and Rabbitpaw saw grief briefly flash over her face before it was replaced by her usual cheer. “Lillian’s ancient and she wouldn’t hurt a fly. She likes to take care of strays, too.”

 

“Oh… okay,” Rabbitpaw murmured, although she felt a twinge of pity for Lola; she had obviously liked this Lillian’s mate. The black-and-white molly beamed and disappeared through the flap. 

 

“If I ever tell you to run, run,” Sunpaw hissed into her ear as she stepped around Rabbitpaw. Crouching a little, she squeezed in after Lola. 

 

_ Bossy,  _ Rabbitpaw thought with a shake of her head, but she carefully stepped through into the house, not wanting to let Sunpaw know how nervous she was. 

 

What she saw defied even the wildest parts of her imagination. 

 

Everything was so…  _ square. _ Free of blemishes. The ground was a glossy, dark wood, like a tree after rain without the wet. More strange squares lined the perfectly vertical walls, all the color of sand. There were so many things she had no name for that she decided to just find Sunpaw and her new friends. The place was  _ big, _ too, even bigger than ShadeClan’s camp. 

She hurried down the passageway and followed the sound of Lola’s meowing into another section of the house. 

The sight that greeted her was even wilder than her first look into the twoleg’s den. 

 

Some  _ creature, _ easily the biggest she’d ever seen, was sitting on the hard gray floor with Biscuit, who, judging by the crumbs of morsels around his muzzle, had already eaten. The Scottish Fold was purring so hard it echoed off the walls and ceiling, winding around the hairless monster like it was his own mother. The monster was using its freakishly elongated paws to groom Biscuit, cooing to him in obvious adoration. About two fox-lengths away was Sunpaw. The older apprentice watched the twoleg like a hawk, although she didn’t seem to be afraid. 

 

Cautiously, Rabbitpaw padded over to Sunpaw to stand by her side. The monster… the  _ twoleg _ lifted her head, spotted Rabbitpaw, and made the same cooing noise she had made to Biscuit. The good-natured twinkle in those blue eyes betrayed no ill will. 

 

At a pair of two concave objects that held water and some sort of food, Lola lifted her head to greet Rabbitpaw, still eating in quick little nibbles. “Lillian says hello.”

 

A jolt of surprise shot up Rabbitpaw’s spine. “You can understand her?”

 

“Mm-hm, a little.”

 

Even Sunpaw blinked at that little token of information, startled. 

 

“She knows how to give the best pets, too!” Biscuit called, still purring so hard that every word vibrated in his jaws. He flopped over on his side with a satisfied grunt and let the twoleg swipe away the loose hair on his pelt. 

 

Bracing herself on her hairless paws, the twoleg Lillian slowly rose, as if the action caused her discomfort. Rabbitpaw remembered Lola saying that she was very old. Surely, this ancient creature didn’t have to fend for herself? 

 

When she voiced her concerns to Lola, the housecat just laughed. “Of course not. Humans are extremely social and empathetic, much more than cats or even dogs. Her children come and visit every quarter-moon.”

 

“Humans?” she asked again. 

 

“That’s their proper name,” Lola explained patiently. 

 

Lillian returned from fussing with something on a long stone ledge that came up to her waist. The smell of something absolutely delicious hit her nose, and her stomach cramped painfully in response. Moving slowly, Lillian knelt down to put a thing full of the same stuff Lola had been eating before her and Sunpaw. It wasn’t like anything Rabbitpaw had eaten before, and the fact that she couldn’t tell what animal it had been was a little freaky. 

 

Well. If Lola and Biscuit could eat it without a problem, then so could she. Ignoring Sunpaw’s disgusted huff, Rabbitpaw began gobbling down the food like a starving rogue, which she supposed she kind of was. She felt Sunpaw’s long fur brush against her side when the golden molly crouched down to eat as well. It tasted different than fresh-kill, but it wasn’t… bad? 

 

Biscuit and Lola watched approvingly, with their twoleg sitting back down on a ledge by one of those see-through squares to the outside. She had fixed herself a portion of her own food that was definitely not meat, and seemed content to mind her own business. Rabbitpaw decided that if a lot of twolegs were like Lillian, then she would make more of an effort to speak highly of them like Sunpaw did. 

 

“So, you said something about a threat to the clans,” Lola finally said. The gentleness of her presence was slowly melting away, replaced by a quiet seriousness that reminded Rabbitpaw of what Sunpaw told her— Lola was a spy, and a good one at that, too. 

 

Rabbitpaw side-eyed Sunpaw, who had food on her chin. She patted her own muzzle, and Sunpaw got the hint and quickly wiped her face. 

 

“A young warrior in my clan was killed by a demon. Sunpaw here also fought and killed one,” Rabbitpaw began. “Then we both had visions that told us that we had to leave so we can save our home and defeat a great evil. The prophecy we were both told by the spirits who came to us said we have to go north, to the mountains and then to the sea. That’s why we need to know where the mountains are.”

 

Lola and Biscuit stared at her. 

 

“Uhhh…” said Biscuit. 

 

A growl of exasperation rose from Sunpaw’s chest. “Rabbitpaw, you can’t just  _ tell  _ people stuff like that!”

 

Rabbitpaw leaned back, surprised at the anger in her voice. “Wait, why not? It’s the truth!”

“Because you sound like you’re wrong in the head, that’s why. Nobody we know outside of the clans and your mother’s old colony believes in demons and gods and spirits!” 

 

“But… they’re real. We’ve seen them.”

 

“Yes, because complete strangers are just going to believe two clan cats barely more than kittens that they’re not making it up.”

 

The sting of embarrassment was back, writhing in her belly like a splinter. Why did Sunpaw hate her so much? “Fine! You tell them, then.”

 

“I will, thank you,” Sunpaw deadpanned, before turning back to the baffled housecats. “There are…  _ creatures _ attacking cats from both TideClan and ShadeClan. As Rabbitpaw already told you, ShadeClan already lost a warrior, and I had to fight another one off and kill it. Due to a series of… interesting circumstances, we decided to leave to see if there’s a way we can stop these attacks at their source.”

 

Lola lifted a claw, brows furrowing, before letting her paw fall back to the floor. “Okay, wait. If the clans are really in danger, why did they send two children to…”

 

Her voice trailed off, and Rabbitpaw watched in dread as Lola figured out the last part of their little shenanigan. “Oh, goodness. You two ran away, didn’t you?”

 

Sunpaw scowled. “It doesn’t matter. I’m old enough to take care of myself now. And Rabbitpaw.”

 

Biscuit’s gaze flickered back and forth between them. “Uh-huh. Okay.”

 

“Look, can you just take us to this Chuck of yours? We’ll be out of your fur as soon as we can,” Sunpaw snapped. 

 

“... Yeah. I can do that,” Biscuit said reluctantly, hauling himself to his feet and trotting out of the kitchen. “Alright, follow me, you two.”

 

Quickly, Rabbitpaw got up and followed him, Sunpaw on her left. She felt Lola’s gaze on her until they hopped back through the flap that separated the house from outside. 

 

She didn’t realize how tense she had been until she felt the fresh air blow over her pelt, filling her nose with the smell of newly-growing things and mud. How Lola and Biscuit lived in that place all the time was beyond her. Didn’t they long for the sun on their fur, the thrill of a hunt, a clan to call their own? They didn’t exactly live alone, but it still seemed… lonely. 

 

They followed Biscuit over several fences, a couple of gardens, and at one point had to dodge around a startled twoleg male pushing a very small metal monster that made the grass shorter as it passed over the ground. It made a lot of noise, like a car, making Rabbitpaw run as fast as she could to get away from it. 

 

After that, Biscuit led them to a twoleg den made of some kind of red-square stone that was very rough to the touch, a purr rumbling up in his throat, and jumped up to a ledge with the see-through material. He looked into the house, clearly searching for something. 

 

“Is he here?” Rabbitpaw asked. 

 

A scraping noise above them made all of them look up to see what caused it. One large gray head poked out of an opening in the wall. It was a tabby tom, maybe a season cycle or two older than Biscuit, and when he saw the Scottish Fold his orange eyes lit right up. 

 

“Chuck!” Biscuit sang, standing up on his hind legs and bracing his front against the window. “Surprise!”

 

Chuck wasted no time in climbing out of the house. While Rabbitpaw watched in awe, he simply skidded down the wall face-first like a squirrel, letting the drag of his claws do most of the work. A couple of fox-lengths from the ground, he leapt off the wall and landed in the grass with a grunt. Biscuit did the same, and the two toms wasted no time in shoving their foreheads against each other, all the while purring so loudly Rabbitpaw could practically feel it in her chest. 

 

“Mm, missed you,” Biscuit sighed happily. Chuck was still purring too hard to talk. 

 

She glanced over to Sunpaw, who looked bored out of her mind, and wondered if they should give the couple some privacy. 

 

Luckily, Chuck caught Rabbitpaw’s eye and gently patted Biscuit’s back, signaling him to break it up. “Missed you too, babe. Wanna tell me why you brought some kits with you?”

 

Biscuit blinked, looking like he was snapping out of a daze, and then shot a sheepish look at Rabbitpaw and Sunpaw. “My bad. Chuck, this is Sunpaw and Rabbitpaw. They’re from those two clans I was telling you about?”

 

“Oh, yeah, I remember you telling me about that.” Chuck frowned. “Why do your names end in ‘paw’, though?”

 

“It’s a title for apprentices. Which we are,” Sunpaw explained, before quickly moving on. “Biscuit told us you used to be a loner? We were hoping you could answer some questions about… geography.”

 

Chuck perked up. Rabbitpaw could tell he was excited to meet cats who wanted to talk about travelling. “You two are hitting the road, huh? Yeah, I’ve been around. Where y’all headed?”

 

She didn’t know what ‘hitting the road’ meant, but Sunpaw seemed to get the gist. “We’re looking for some mountains in the north.”

 

“Mountains… lots of mountains around here, dude. I know some pretty big ones about a moon’s journey away from here,” Chuck offered, scratching his jaw thoughtfully. His ears were tattered, and he had an impressive scar across one hind leg. He would have fit right in with ShadeClan, in Rabbitpaw’s opinion. 

 

“Do you know how to get there?” Sunpaw asked. 

 

“It’s pretty easy if you just keep reading the land. What you’ll want to do is head north for about a day, and then the ground will begin to rise up and away from the sea. You’ll find yourself in a smaller range that’ll take you where you want to go. Basically, if you’re heading uphill, you’re doing it right,” Chuck finished. 

“Just keeping going uphill,” Sunpaw echoed. 

 

“And watch out for the wolves, bears, foxes, mountain lions-”

 

Biscuit smacked Chuck’s shoulder. “They know about those, dear, they live in the wild!”

 

“Oh, yeah.” The gray tabby made a face, but turned to nod at Rabbitpaw and Sunpaw. “Good luck. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, either. Most of the time, strays won’t mind folks asking for directions, especially if they’re young like you two are.”

 

“Got it,” Rabbitpaw replied, doing her best to keep all of Chuck’s advice straight.  _ Head north for a day, follow the mountains for about a moon, ask for help when you need it… _

“Thank you for your help,” Sunpaw told Chuck. 

 

“No problem, kit. Be safe, be smart,” he reminded her. 

 

Biscuit beamed, and then looked hopefully at Rabbitpaw. “Can you two find your way back to the house by yourselves?”

 

“Sure,” Sunpaw cut in. “C’mon, Rabbitpaw.”

 

Not having the energy to protest or ask why Biscuit wanted to be alone with Chuck, she simply plodded after the big molly, feeling fatigue seeping into her bones. After a good quarter-moon of doing basically nothing, today had been a painful reminder that she was very,  _ very _ behind her peers. 

 

The trip back to the house was uneventful. In the garden, Lola was waiting for them, paws tucked underneath her and tail wrapped around her flank. Patches of white fur glowed in the light of the setting sun, breaking up her silhouette in the shadows. 

 

“Did you get what you were looking for?” She asked. 

 

“We did.” Sunpaw flopped down nearby, and Rabbitpaw did the same. “If it isn’t too much trouble, could we sleep in the garden tonight? We’ll be gone by dawn, promise.”

 

Lola hesitated, and then dipped her head in agreement. “Of course.”

 

“We’ll be careful. Sunpaw and I’ll be back before you know it,” Rabbitpaw promised. She felt bad for making the nice housecat worry, even if she didn’t really know Lola that well. 

 

“I know,” Lola sighed. 

 

“You’ll be the first to know when we return, too!”

 

“I fully plan to be.”

 

“I’ll tell you all of the cool stuff I did, and you can see any battle scars I got-”

 

“-Because I’m coming with you two.”

 

Rabbitpaw froze with her mouth still open, and then looked over to Sunpaw to make sure she heard what she thought she just heard. Sure enough, the TideClan apprentice was staring at Lola with wide amber eyes. 

 

“You  _ what?”  _

  
  



	9. Chapter 9

In the end, there was no use arguing with Lola. 

 

Sunpaw had let Rabbitpaw rant on and on about why coming with them was a horrible idea-- it wasn’t safe out there, Biscuit would miss her, her twoleg would miss her. Deep down, she knew she was hoping for Rabbitpaw to just annoy Lola so much she gave in. 

 

Finally, she broke in after Rabbitpaw started mentioning how going hungry was a very real option when not under the care of twolegs. “Lola, what we’re trying to say is if you come with us, you might never come back.”

 

“I know.” Lola groomed one white paw, unfazed as ever. “But I can’t let two children go on a dangerous quest all by themselves. What friend to the clans would I be if I let that happen?”

 

Eventually, Sunpaw knew that they would find the third cat Sunmist had told would accompany them on their journey. She just never would have guessed it would be a housecat. When she glanced over at Rabbitpaw, the tabby had fallen silent, as if she was pondering the same thing. 

 

“Rabbitpaw, a word,” she ordered, and got up to lead Rabbitpaw to the other end of the yard. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lola politely turn away to give them some privacy. 

 

Once they were out of earshot, Rabbitpaw unsheathed her claws and raked the grass with them. “I don’t want her coming with us. She won’t know how to live out in the real world, and her twoleg already lost her mate. It won’t be fair on Biscuit, either.”

 

“You already said that,” Sunpaw hissed. “But I think we both know that she’s the third cat. Who else would insist on coming with us?”

 

“I… look. I don’t wanna be rude, but… she’s easily as old as a few of our elders. We’ll be slowed down a bit,” Rabbitpaw mumbled. 

 

“No more than you,” Sunpaw dismissed, and resisted the urge to roll her eyes when she saw hurt flash over the younger apprentice’s face. “Besides, she’s got to have some experience if she’s older. It’ll be good to have an adult around.”

 

“You’ll be an adult soon,” Rabbitpaw protested, but Sunpaw knew she had won the argument. She padded back over to Lola and tried to appear as authoritative as she could. 

 

“I’ll wake you up when the sky turns gray,” she promised. 

Lola blinked and smiled. “I’ll go say my goodbyes, then. Goodnight, you two.”

 

“‘Night,” Rabbitpaw called, already curled up in a tight ball under some ferns. 

 

Praying to StarClan she made the right choice, Sunpaw chose her own spot under a nearby bush and flopped down in the dirt. 

 

_ Sunmist, if I’m doing this right, send me a sign. Anything will do. Just let me know I’m not leading these two cats to their deaths.  _

 

<>

 

Like all of her nightmares before, Sunpaw fought void-black creatures that clawed at her eyes and drew blood wherever they touched. Instead of red spilling out from her flesh, the liquid was dark, muddy, and smelled of rot. It clotted in her fur, dragging her to the ground, dripping into her nose and gullet-

 

She jolted awake just as yellowed fangs sunk into her throat. 

 

The stars that managed to shine through the lights of the twoleg colony told her that dawn would not be far off, so she rested her head on her front paws and watched the eastern horizon. 

 

If TideClan hadn’t noticed her absence by yesterday evening, they probably had by now. She didn’t think it likely that anybody would be too concerned just yet; she went off by herself all the time. What she  _ was _ worried about was ShadeClan. It wouldn’t be long before they realized their leader’s daughter was missing and launched another search, and if the three of them didn’t get out of the twoleg colony soon there would no doubt be trouble. That gray twig of a warrior, Littlefang, was probably itching to take the rest of her ear off for the trouble.

 

Speaking of...

 

Reaching up, Sunpaw carefully brushed a paw against the still-aching tear, just above where the cartilage thickened to meet her skull. It came away speckled with pus and blood, and the skin was swollen and hot to the touch. 

 

_ Great, _ she thought.  _ Just what I need.   _

 

What did Bluemoon always use for infections? Seawater would be out of the question as they headed into the mountains, and wild garlic wasn’t in season yet. 

 

As the first few stars in the east began to wink out, she decided it was a problem that would have to wait. Sunpaw stood, stretched, and trotted around to the other side of the house. Slipping through the flap Lola and Biscuit used, she immediately spotted the black-and-white molly curled up just a few fox-lengths away. Lola woke as soon as Sunpaw patted her shoulder and followed her back out of the house, over to Rabbitpaw. The little tabby had to be nearly slapped upside the head before she would so much as stir, much to Sunpaw’s annoyance. 

 

“Biscuit already knows everything. I told him goodbye last night,” Lola assured Rabbitpaw when she glanced back worriedly at the house. 

 

“Wish I could have said goodbye, too,” she admitted, and Sunpaw guessed she wasn’t just talking about their new friend. 

 

One by one, they hopped up and over the fence, and headed north. 

 

Sunpaw thought it was all rather anticlimactic, given the situation. In the legends she was told growing up, the hero was always sent off with all of their friends and family cheering them on. She didn’t feel much like a hero, but admittedly there was a little part of her that hoped she’d be treated like one when she got home. 

 

The rest of the morning went by without any problems. Rain began falling just as they made it out of the twoleg settlement, but the dense forest they were traveling through shielded them from the worst of it. Ravens called to each other from the pine trees. An opossum watched them from from its hollow. Not for the first time, Sunpaw wished Eaglestar was there with her. He’d know what to do, and he could talk to the other people of the forest to find out if they were going where they needed to go. 

 

Another jolt of guilt hit her in the chest. Was she even doing the right thing? 

 

“Can we stop in a little bit? My paws are killing me,” Rabbitpaw complained. 

 

“Sure,” she grumbled. “Let’s just make it over this rise.”

 

They did just that, with Lola finding them shelter under a fallen long. Rabbitpaw collapsed on her side with a groan, out of breath and paw pads damp with sweat despite the chill. Lola settled for tucking her paws underneath her and curling her tail around her side. There were a couple of burrs stuck in her pink collar. 

 

“So, why don’t you tell me a little about yourselves?” Lola encouraged, looking back and forth between Sunpaw and Rabbitpaw. 

 

Sunpaw blinked. “Uh… well.”

 

“I’m afraid of heights,” Rabbitpaw blurted out. “‘Cause I don’t have a tail to balance with. But I like running.”

 

“Well, that makes sense,” Lola agreed. “We won’t be sending you up any trees, then.”

 

“... I like fighting. Eaglestar tells me I’m good at it,” Sunpaw offered. 

 

“Well, he told me and Biscuit the same thing. It’s pretty obvious.”

 

“It is?”

 

“Your ear is bleeding again, dear.”

 

She unthinkingly reached up to feel it, but Lola was quick to bat her paw away. “Not so fast! You’ll need yarrow for that.”

 

“We’ll just find some on the way. It’ll be fine,” Sunpaw muttered, not looking at her or Rabbitpaw. Being the center of attention never failed to make her squirm. 

 

“She fought a cat from my clan, Littlefang. He didn’t want us to leave, and then Sunpaw brought up his dead sister…” Rabbitpaw winced. 

 

“If that bugs-for-brains truly wanted to honor his sister, he would have let us leave so we can stop the things that are killing cats in the first place!”

 

Rabbitpaw just made a face at her. 

 

Lola sighed. “Alright, let’s get back on track. I hate to be the one to bring it up, since I haven’t hunted a night in my life, but we really should find something to eat.”

 

_ Thank StarClan! _ Sunpaw jumped to her feet. “I’m on it.”

 

Hesitantly, Rabbitpaw got up as well. Satisfied, Sunpaw turned and bounded off into the thicket, mouth parted slightly to catch the scent of anything edible. This part of the forest was obviously recovering well from winter, as the smells of various critters and birds instantly flooded her nose. She tracked a lemming to the base of a hemlock, where she found the little rodent happily gorging itself on grubs without a care in the world. It met its end when she brought a paw down on its skull with a satisfying  _ crunch. _

 

She trotted back to the makeshift camp and presented it to Lola. 

 

“Why, thank you, Sunpaw,” Lola praised, and Sunpaw could tell she was genuinely grateful. A bit of warmth went back into the tips of her ears. “I’ll have to ask you for some pointers on how to hunt for myself when we have the time.”

 

“It’s my pleasure,” Sunpaw automatically responded, but then she decided she meant it. 

 

When she went back into the brush to get something for herself, she picked up the scent of vole, mixed with Rabbitpaw’s own trail. Just as she turned around to find another animal to hunt, a ruckus exploded from a nearby patch of ferns. Somebody swore in frustration. Twigs and leaves crunched underfoot, and a small tabby shape burst out of the ferns, scrambling after something small that was apparently making a lot of twists and turns. Rabbitpaw frantically tried to keep up with the critter she was chasing, eyes never leaving their target, but unfortunately that meant she wasn’t watching where she was going. 

 

Sunpaw watched in amazement as Rabbitpaw tripped over her own two front paws and tumbled right into a mud puddle. 

 

“Well, damn,” she commented.

 

With a shocked squeal, the ShadeClan apprentice flung herself out of the cold water and dragged her shivering form to higher ground. She gasped for breath, curling herself into a ball in the moss for warmth. Hazel eyes stayed wide and unblinking. 

 

Irritation quickly replaced amusement, and Sunpaw marched over to Rabbitpaw to prod her back to reality. “What in StarClan are you doing? Get back up before you get the freezing-shakes.”

 

“No,” Rabbitpaw whimpered. 

 

“What do you mean,  _ no? _ There’s plenty of prey around here, just get up and try again.”

 

“I can’t.”

 

“Are you serious? You’re going to be like this?”

 

Rabbitpaw lifted her head and looked at Sunpaw with the most pathetic expression she had ever seen in her life. “Sunpaw, I don’t know how to hunt. I never learned!”

 

Sunpaw stared down at the little molly, briefly at a loss for words. “You know, I don’t know why I’m surprised. Is it because you’re the daughter of the clan leader? That would explain a lot.”

 

“Wh…” Rabbitpaw’s eyes narrowed in confusion, and then, in a heartbeat, her fangs were bared and mud-coated hackles spiking up in anger. She leapt to all fours and shoved her muzzle right up against Sunpaw’s. “Is  _ that _ what you think this is all about? That I’m just some spoiled brat who had everything done for her without question?”

 

“You can barely get through a morning without-”

 

“I was an apprentice for a  _ day! _ I tried to prove myself by catching a hare, and my own parents exiled me back to the nursery for a whole moon because all I ever brought them was embarrassment. My own  _ siblings _ were kept away from me while they trained to be warriors,” Rabbitpaw seethed. 

 

_ Oh, no, she’s mad. _ “Is that why-”

 

“Shut up! I might be weak, and unskilled, and not know a whole lot about anything, but at least I’m not some bully who thinks she can get away with treating other people like  _ shit! _ I’m  _ done _ with letting others disrespect me for the mistakes I constantly try to make up for. I don’t know what your deal is,  _ Sunpaw,  _ but from now on, I’m treating you the same way you’ve been treating  _ me.”  _

 

Sunpaw felt like Tidestar herself had come to punch her in the nose. Something awful and sad wriggled into her chest cavity and took root. 

 

For a moment that lasted way too long, they just stared at each other. 

 

“... Rabbitpaw, I-”

 

Again, she was interrupted, but not by Rabbitpaw. 

 

A flurry of barking sent ice water up Sunpaw’s spine. Both of them jumped and turned towards the sound. 

 

“What was that,” she said. 

 

A bush rustled, and Lola came flying out in a full sprint, the whites of her eyes glinting with terror.

 

_ “Run!” _ she screeched.

 

Sunpaw was running before her mind could catch up to her body. She could hear Rabbitpaw and Lola close behind, grass and twigs snapping underneath their paws. The little silver trinkets on the housecat’s collar clinked much too loudly for Sunpaw’s liking. 

 

“Sorry, Rabbitpaw, but get up that tree! The one with all the leaves!” Lola begged. “You too, Sunpaw.”

 

She instantly knew which one Lola was talking about, the big oak up ahead that had already begun to bloom again. The other trees wouldn’t provide as much cover from whatever was chasing them. 

 

With a grunt of exertion, Sunpaw launched herself up the mossy trunk and climbed that tree faster than any cat had climbed anything, or at least that’s what she thought. The scrape of claws below her let her know Rabbitpaw had followed. When she pulled herself up onto a dead branch, she saw the tabby had settled for just clinging to the trunk for dear life. 

 

Her heart skipped a beat when she realized Lola had not followed them. 

 

The housecat was desperately trying to push herself up from the roots, but kept slipping as her grip failed. yipping and howling drew closer with every passing breath, and Lola wasn’t anywhere near out of harm’s way. 

 

“Lola! You have to dig in!” Sunpaw yowled. 

 

Golden irises were almost overtaken completely by black. “I’m afraid not! I don’t have front claws!”

 

She wondered if her ears were failing.  _ “What?” _

 

“They were taken out when I was a kitten!”

 

“Oh, gods,” Sunpaw heard Rabbitpaw whisper. 

 

_ Why would a cat have her claws taken?  _ she thought wildly. She didn’t get to come up with a plausible answer, however, when four dogs emerged from the thicket. All of them were barking in excitement, ears back and tongues lolling with the thrill of the chase. From their coloration and collars, Sunpaw could tell that these were no wild dogs; they had to have gotten away from their twoleg. 

 

A surge of hope steadied her racing pulse. Eaglestar had told her that most dogs that lived with twolegs were actually very friendly despite not knowing their own strength. And even if they did want cat in their bellies, they wouldn’t know how to kill. 

 

Rabbitpaw began crying with horror as they fanned out around Lola, all mock-lunging at her to test out their prey. One of them, a brown-and-white male, got within striking distance and promptly got his ears boxed. He fell back with a yelp, Lola howling after him. The sweet, plump housecat was now a bristling ball of rage. 

 

Frantically, Sunpaw looked around for anything that might help them. The wood creaked dangerously underneath her claws, and she froze. 

 

Not too far away, a car honked as it traveled along a road. 

 

An idea came to her like a crash of lightning. A popular battle strategy amongst TideClan warriors was to climb trees and then drop down on their smaller enemies, crushing them. There was only one of her and four dogs, but she did have a large, dead branch. 

 

“Rabbitpaw! Get ready to run!” she snapped, and started rocking her weight into the joint where the limb met the trunk. Several little snaps sounded like music to her ears. 

 

“What in the name of the Guides are you  _ doing?”  _ Rabbitpaw shrieked. 

 

“Saving our lives, that’s what!”

 

One of the dogs snarled. Lola cried out. With a shout of desperation, Sunpaw leapt clean off the branch and landed hard on the base of it. 

 

_ SNAP. _

 

Delight blended into fear as the branch finally gave way. She was acutely aware of every passing heartbeat as she watched her perch begin to fall, and her with it, lasting for entire season cycles. The forest floor rushed up to meet her, and she selected her target. 

 

Sunpaw landed hard on the big black-and-brown one’s head. It yelped, and went down like a rockslide. The wonderful smack of storm-weathered wood into another dog’s skull followed right after. Pain bloomed along her side as she collapsed to the ground, winded. 

 

_ “Sunpaw!”  _ Was it Rabbitpaw or Lola who called her name?

 

_ We’re not finished yet, _ she remembered, and forced herself to roll to her feet. The brown-and-white dog she had hit with the branch had been knocked unconscious, and the one she dropped on was at least stunned. The other two, a dark brown male and a tall brindle female, were still standing. 

 

The brindle female was clearly the brains between the two, as she stared at her fallen companions, back at Sunpaw, and growled deep in her chest. At her side, the dark brown male seemed to pick up on what his superior was saying and joined in. 

 

_ I think I just made it personal.  _

 

Sunpaw bolted. 

 

Aiming for where she heard the car honk, she forced her legs to propel herself faster than ever before, sucking in air between strides. If she survived this, she was going to leave the running to Rabbitpaw from then on. 

 

The storm of outraged howling followed close behind, hot breath huffing on her tail. She cleared a log, dodged a puddle, smashed through a thorn bush and nearly got her eyes poked out. 

 

Nearly getting her eyes poked out, she would later recall, ended up being the thing that saved her life. The dogs’ frantic barks turned to yips as they collided with the plant, and she was given another squirrel-length of precious space between them. If she hadn’t done it, there would have been no way she could have made the charge up the hill that led to the road. 

 

Time slowed again like it had when the branch had broken underneath her paws. The cold, wet rock beneath her pads felt almost slimy as she touched down. A huge silver car blasted by her in a blur, ruffling her fur in a wind that stank so heavily of smoke she nearly coughed her guts up right there and then. One push, two pushes to the center of the road. Two yellow lines ran straight down it. Another car was coming right at her, this one even bigger and pure white. 

 

The twoleg commanding it must have seen her and the dogs, because a deafening roar from the thing nearly drowned out the brindle dog’s scream as it collided with her. Metal-blood scent hit the air, the stench of roadkill. Another thud let Sunpaw know the male dog hadn’t stopped in time, either. 

 

Her paws suddenly churned empty air. The ground disappeared, letting Sunpaw tumble down the hill on the other side of the road. Up and down ceased to exist as opposing directions, even when she came to a stop in the ditch. 

 

The very muddy and filled-with-water ditch. 

 

She only figured this out when she opened her mouth to catch her breath and instead received a disgusting helping of road run-off. Forcing her paws to find solid ground, Sunpaw stumbled out of the water, head still reeling. A tangle of ivy that had surrounded one of those limbless trees that lined roads caught her eye. Having just enough sense to catch the irony of her plight, she dragged herself to it and managed to find a space large enough to accommodate her. 

 

A saying Spikeclaw liked to throw around from time to time came back to her as she laid there, sprawled out in a battered mess on the side of a road. It was the one thing she and her mother could agree on. 

 

Falconflight, a bitter old bastard who had sided with Thicket in the war against his colony, routinely refused to acknowledge Eaglestar as his new leader over the winter. Eaglestar hadn’t so much as batted an eye at the senior warrior’s antics, but he had invited Falconflight to take a walk with him to the twoleg colony. Spikeclaw told her everything after it happened, but Eaglestar had given Falconflight a choice: respect him as the rightful leader of TideClan, or leave as a disgraced rogue. 

 

Cats from Shadestar’s old colony proceeded to surround them and make it clear to Falconflight that he would be hunted down and killed if he tried to leave. He had done a lot of bad things under Thicket, and later Redbriar, and the colony cats would not be so quick to forgive. Needless to say, Falconflight changed his tune after that. 

 

Her mother had pointed with her chin to Falconflight as he slunk by them on his way back to the warriors’ den.  _ “Karma’s a bitch, Sunpaw.”  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enter: Lola, Professional Mom Friend


	10. Chapter 10

Lola considered herself a survivor. Bounced around from shelter to shelter, human to human, she had been through more than most. She completely recovered from a broken leg after having been hit by a truck, pneumonia as a kitten, being stoned by human children who saw her as nothing more than a weak thing to pick on. At eight season cycles old, she had outlasted most of her friends who also suffered from Feline Leukemia. That’s what the human-vet called the sickness, although Lola preferred the old-fashioned term of  _ Pain-In-The-Ass Disease.  _

 

That being said, these two clan kits were going to be the death of her. 

 

“I can’t believe she did that! What if she’s  _ dead?” _ Rabbitpaw wailed as they faced the road together, cars shooting past in the blink of an eye. The little tabby was trembling, dirty, and “If that miserable hairball got herself killed one day in I’m going up to StarClan myself and  _ beating _ the crap out of her ghost, I swear-!”

 

“I don’t think she’s dead,” Lola cut in, scanning up and down the road for any lumps of cat. The two dead dogs on the other side were the only bodies she saw, much to her relief. A large white car had pulled over to rest just ahead, smeared with blood and dog hair. 

 

When a lull in traffic cleared the way, Lola flicked Rabbitpaw’s side with her tail. Together, they dashed across the road, avoiding the dead dogs. She opened her mouth to draw in more air, but all she could taste were the cars and corpses. 

 

Nose to the ground, Rabbitpaw paced beside the ditch they skidded down to, and Lola decided to do the same in the other direction. She didn’t get very far. 

 

_ Please be okay, please be okay, _ she kept thinking, when Rabbitpaw gave a yowl. Immediately, she was galloping back towards the ShadeClan apprentice, heart in her throat. Rabbitpaw was following something through the muddy grass, towards a telephone pole covered in ivy. Upon inspection, Lola spotted paw prints staggering through the loose soil. 

 

Sunpaw was lying motionless on her side when they found her in the ivy. Beautiful white-gold fur was now caked in mud, leaves, and a bit of blood. She was breathing, though, which was all that mattered. 

 

“Sunpaw! I’m gonna kill you!” Rabbitpaw screeched in her ear. 

 

A low groan emanated from the heap of filth. “Please do.”

 

“What on Earth happened to you? Did you get run over?” Lola demanded, sniffing Sunpaw all over for any sign of injury. A few cuts littered her face, and she was bruised all over through her winter-thick pelt. “If you got hit we’ll need to bring you to the humans. They know how to stop internal bleeding.”

 

“Didn’t get hit. Ran through a thorn bush. Fell real bad.”

 

Lola sighed gratefully. “Well, sweetie, you did an excellent job of getting rid of those dogs. I feel horrible for whoever they belonged to, but I suppose it can’t be helped.”

 

“Mmph.”

 

The wail of approaching sirens soured her mood, if only a little. Rabbitpaw flinched and pressed closer to Lola. “What’s that noise? More dogs?”

 

“No, that’s the police. They’re humans who run around enforcing their human laws. We need to go before they’re all over this side of the road,” Lola explained. 

 

Sunpaw stirred, lifting her huge head off the ground. The mud plastering the fur to her body made her look almost skinny.  _ “Ungh. _ Right now?”

 

“Right now,” Lola affirmed, although not unkindly. 

 

With another pained groan, Sunpaw got all of her legs underneath her and lurched to her feet. Rabbitpaw was instantly at her side to act as a crutch, although Lola was pretty sure that if Sunpaw fell there wouldn’t be a whole lot any of them could do. 

 

It took a lot of pushing, tripping, threatening (from Rabbitpaw), and falling into yet another mud puddle, but at last Lola managed to get the three of them into the safety of the forest. Rabbitpaw stumbled along with dull eyes, worn out from all of the action and not getting anything to eat, even as she did her best to drag Sunpaw along. 

 

“We need to find a river or something to get all that mud off before it dries. If your fur mats you’re done for,” Lola said, mostly to herself. 

 

“Mmg.” Sunpaw huffed in agreement. 

They kept going for a little while longer before their prayers were answered. Lola wondered if those gods and spirits the clan kits prayed to were looking out for them as the scent of fresh water wafted by her, free of any human aftertaste. It wasn’t a river so much as a temporary pond created by the excess rainwater, but it would have to do. The weather was already chilly from the storm, and the pond was even colder, but Sunpaw didn’t even seem to notice. Lola watched in amazement as the big golden molly waded in without a care in the world and plopped right down. 

 

Rabbitpaw stared after her. “How is she doing that?”

 

“Perhaps she can teach us how to swim sometime,” Lola mused. 

 

“Ugh, no way!”

 

Sunpaw rolled over in the water. Water droplets sprayed into the air, shimmering in the afternoon light, and she got to her feet and shook out her pelt before diving back in again. Lola watched in amusement as the TideClan apprentice romped around the pool, the mud in her fur steadily washing away. 

 

She almost made a remark about how all the fish the sea cats ate must have changed them when she caught Rabbitpaw staring at Sunpaw. 

 

Now, Lola had never been in a relationship, nor had she ever really desired one. She  _ did  _ know what a crush looked like, though, had seen others throughout her life steal glances at the object of their affection. Comparing that with how Rabbitpaw looked at Sunpaw, it was fairly obvious to her what was going on. It wasn’t true attraction, not yet. A rock could see that the two young mollies didn’t like each other very much. 

 

But given enough time…

 

Lola met Rabbitpaw’s eye, and Rabbitpaw jumped and quickly looked elsewhere. The pink of her ears flushed dark. 

 

_ Hm. Challenge accepted.  _

 

“We should start travelling at night again. We’d have less problems with the twolegs… the humans,” Sunpaw corrected. She lounged at the water’s edge, raking her tongue through her fur with vengeance. Lola couldn’t imagine the upkeep a pelt like that required. “All in favor?”

 

Rabbitpaw’s eyes narrowed, like she wanted to argue but couldn’t think of a good reason. “Sure.”

 

“We’ll keep going until Sunpaw dries off, and then we can find somewhere to sleep until the sun goes down,” Lola offered. 

 

“Shouldn’t we stop now? Sunpaw’s still injured,” Rabbitpaw said. 

 

“I’m fine now,” Sunpaw replied testily, annoyance flashing through her eyes. 

“Hmph. Suit yourself.” 

 

With that, Rabbitpaw pranced off to take the lead, leaving Lola and Sunpaw to catch up. Sunpaw was still sore, judging by the stiffness in her stride, but Lola had the feeling that she would rather run across a road again then complain. 

 

“You ought to be more patient with her,” Lola murmured, quiet enough that Rabbitpaw wouldn’t hear. 

 

To her surprise, Sunpaw released a tired breath. “I know.”

 

Briefly meeting the apprentice’s eye, Lola nodded, encouraging her to continue. The more she could get the two apprentices to open up to her, the easier this journey would be. 

 

“It’s just… it’s hard dealing with somebody who has everything in the world, or so I thought. I guess I just assumed that because Rabbitpaw is the daughter of the ShadeClan leader that she already had the respect and love of everybody around her. At home, at least. Turns out, that’s not the case.” Sunpaw didn’t look at her after she finished. 

 

_ I see. _ “And so you’re beginning to think you’re more alike than you originally thought, which somehow makes things even more complicated?” 

Sunpaw jerked her head back. “How did you know that?”

 

“I’ve been around long enough to see different people go through the same tribulations. We all walk through life together, even when we are apart,” Lola advised. It was something she picked out of her human’s mate, Thomas, before he passed. Deciphering their language was tricky on the best of days, but as Thomas had entered the dawn of his final day Lola could have sworn the boundaries between species gave way, just a little. 

 

“Oh… okay,” Sunpaw said, and Lola fought back a smile. 

 

“You’ll understand when you’re older, sweetie.”

 

<>

 

An abandoned fox den became their temporary camp until sundown. Sunpaw had insisted on bringing back food for all three of them before they went to sleep, resulting in her practically collapsing from exhaustion the moment she finished eating her squirrel.

 

The moon was halfway up when Lola woke the apprentices, and the night air was brisk but somehow more welcoming than the harsh light of day. Her mood lifted, and Sunpaw and Rabbitpaw actually fell in together to walk side by side. At first, Lola didn’t pay attention to what they were talking about. That changed when Rabbitpaw suddenly became animated about something Sunpaw asked her about. 

 

“-And he guided me to TideClan when I got lost! The wind was at my back when I met you, too,” Rabbitpaw explained. 

 

“He sounds like one of the more helpful ones.”

 

“Aquilo spends more time in the mortal realm than the other Guides, yes.”

 

Lola glanced back over her shoulder, curious. “Who’s Aquilo?”

 

“He’s the god of the wind and sky, and guardian of all who wander,” Rabbitpaw recited proudly. “My parents told me that if I’m ever lost, even if it’s just making a really hard decision, to listen to what the breeze tells me.”

 

“Oh, is this like StarClan?” Lola asked. Eaglestar had told her a bit about the spirits that came to him in dreams, but not much. 

 

Rabbitpaw shook her head. “Nope. Before we were ShadeClan, my colony worshipped the Nine Guides. We still do. It was only after Shadestar became leader that we took in StarClan as our afterlife.”

“StarClan isn’t anything like a god. They’re our friends and family who come to us to offer advice when they think we need it, and deliver prophecies to healers, but other than that they’re just sort of… there,” Sunpaw added. 

 

Lola was stunned by the complete and utter certainty of these kittens that their ghosts and gods were real. “Have you met a StarClan cat?”

 

“I did. Her name was Sunmist, the mother of the clan leader before Eaglestar.”

 

“I met an older clan leader named Sandstar. She was kind of scary,” Rabbitpaw piped up. 

 

“Did you really,” Lola meowed faintly. 

 

Sunpaw’s muzzle twitched in amusement. 

 

The woodlands they were travelling through, true to Chuck’s word, began to slope uphill. Boulders littered the area like little moons fallen to Earth. Shorter, scrappier little trees Lola had no name more popped up every now and again amongst the pines. 

“Okay, you two,” Lola said after a while of silence. “I know that living out in the wild has given you a lot of experience, more so than most housecats get in a lifetime. But from now on, I want all of us to be  _ extra _ careful.”

 

“How can we be more careful than we already are?” Rabbitpaw complained. 

 

“By communicating. If you smell something funny, tell me or Sunpaw. If somebody gets hurt-” Lola nudged Sunpaw, who  _ hmphed _ under her breath. “Bring it to our attention so it can be fixed. How’s the ear?”

 

“It’s fine.”

 

“Wrong answer. Try again.”

 

_ “Ugh. _ It’s a little painful. Happy?”

 

“Yes,” Lola said primly.

 

“What was the herb you said could help infection? Yarrow, right?” Rabbitpaw butted in between them, energetic as always. Somehow, Lola knew something about her had changed after they left the house. She was louder, more expressive, less shy around Sunpaw. 

 

“Good memory,” Lola praised. “Do you know what it looks like?”

 

“Nuh-uh.”

 

“Sort of tall, white flowers that grow in bunches at the top. You can find them in fields.”

 

“She says as we head into the mountains,” Sunpaw sighed. 

 

“Don’t be rude,” Rabbitpaw snapped. “The only reason we’re trying to help you is because you’re part of the prophecy.  _ I’m _ going to find yarrow in that gully over there.”

 

With that, the little tabby took off down the hill they were on and out of sight. 

 

_ “Rabbitpaw! _ Get back here before-!” Sunpaw yowled, but Lola cut her off with a tail to the snout. 

 

“Let her do this. She wants to be useful,” Lola insisted. 

 

“She’s going to get herself into trouble-”

 

“And it will be her that learns from it.”

 

Sunpaw growled and stomped a front paw. “I’m peeing in her nest when we stop.”

 

“You certainly will  _ not, _ young molly.”

 

Of course, that’s when it started raining again. Thankfully, it was more of a light drizzle than anything, and the steadily waxing moon shining through the clouds was more than enough to see by. Sunpaw found a root big enough for her to sit on that overlooked the hill and hadn’t moved since. In the meantime, Lola decided to be productive. 

 

“Sunpaw, how’s my hunting crouch?” she called over. She had arranged herself into a position she thought was a good start: low to the ground, tail level with her body. 

 

“Mm?” Sunpaw turned, ears pricked, and then pale brows furrowed in confusion. “What is your what now?”

 

“My hunting crouch.”

 

“Oh. Ah... hm.”

 

Lola could help laughing when she saw the younger molly wince a little. “That bad, huh? Any sage advice from the master?”

 

“Well… don’t ball yourself up so much. You need to be able to run, not jump,” Sunpaw began. “Paws under your chest and no wider than your shoulders. Keep your tail the way it is, that’s good.”

 

She dropped down from her perch to demonstrate. Lola was amazed at how much muscle the TideClan apprentice had. What were they even feeding their kits over there? Moose?

 

Trying her best to mimic the effortless strength Sunpaw exhibited, Lola stretched out a bit more. “Like this?”

 

“I’d say that’s pretty close. Try pouncing on that white mushroom right there,” Sunpaw suggested, tilting her head towards the fungus in question. 

 

“Challenge accepted.” Lola focused on the mushroom, imagining it to be a fat baby rabbit, just like the ones that ran through her human’s garden. Pushing off with her back legs, she shot forward, hard, and slammed her paws down on the blasted thing. 

 

“You should probably use your- nevermind,” Sunpaw quickly cut herself off, but Lola knew what she was about to say. 

 

“It’s okay, you know. Lots of housecats get their claws taken,” she explained. 

 

Sunpaw looked nauseated. “But  _ why? _ Doesn’t it hurt?”

 

“Sometimes my paws get sore from the uneven weight distribution.” Lola found herself flexing her toes against where the last knuckles should have been. The skin there had loosened over the season cycles, lacking support from the missing bone. “But all I remember is being at the human-vet, and then going to sleep. When I woke up, they were just… gone. And I felt funny from the weird medicine they gave me.”

 

“That’s terrifying. You don’t think…” Sunpaw swallowed, uncharacteristic fear pinning her ears back. “You don’t think the humans took them?”

 

“Probably. Then again, I’ve had weirder things taken out of me,” Lola reasoned. 

 

“Like what?”

 

_ Oh, dear. _ “Hm, how about we get back to training? We can all talk about our tragic backstories later.”

 

She must be getting used to the stoic mask Sunpaw always had on, because she definitely saw the big molly turn away to hide a short burst of laughter. 

 

A surge of pride swept away the tiredness from her bones. Lola happily went down into the hunting crouch again. 

 

“The hard part is not getting stiff. Stalk over to that hemlock and back, and then-” Sunpaw started, only to be interrupted by the sound of ferns rustling. They both turned to face the source of the disturbance, both instantly on edge, but the sight of a small bobtailed tabby popping out of cover let Lola relax. In the tabby’s mouth was a bunch of yarrow. 

 

Rabbitpaw puffed out her chest and spat the herbs out. “Found ‘em!”

  
  



	11. Chapter 11

The sour taste in Rabbitpaw’s mouth from the yarrow was more than worth it when she took in the stunned expression on Sunpaw’s face. 

 

“Rabbitpaw! You actually found some!” Lola exclaimed, tail curling up above her back. “Well done, you.”

 

A flash of pride warmed her belly.

 

Sunpaw jumped when Lola flicked her side with a white-tipped tail. The golden molly coughed, refusing to meet Rabbitpaw’s eyes. “Um, yeah. Thanks for doing that for me.”

 

“You’re welcome,” Rabbitpaw sang.  _ Take that, you grouchy hairball.  _

 

Lola trotted over to the herbs and nosed the pile. “We won’t need all of this, but you can start chewing the leaves into a paste and put it on her ear.”

 

“Got it.” Ugh, her mouth was going to taste like plants  _ forever. _ Rabbitpaw did as she was told, though, trying not to grimace as she spat out the goop on to her paw. The stink of Sunpaw’s infected ear was even worse when she bent down so Rabbitpaw could reach the wound. Pus and blood clotted in the fur around it, and the tabby had to slap away a fly trying to get at it. 

 

“Ew, wow. When we get back I’m telling the whole clan Littlefang never cleans his teeth,” she muttered. 

 

Sunpaw snorted. “Tell Shadestar to change his name to Shitfang.”

 

Rabbitpaw had to lean away to avoid cackling right in Sunpaw’s ear. She doubted the older apprentice would have cared, because Sunpaw started loudly giggling into her big front paws at the same time.

 

“Language, Sunpaw!” Lola scolded, but Rabbitpaw was more interested in the sound of Sunpaw actually  _ giggling, _ hard enough that her shoulders shook with the effort of trying to restrain herself. Maybe she was just really tired, but it was the nicest laugh she’d ever heard.

 

She shoved more yarrow in her mouth to avoid staring at Sunpaw and chewed through the nasty stuff, careful to not swallow any. One time Rainpaw ate half a leaf for a dare and he ended up puking all over the camp for the whole night. The stench was forever emblazoned in her memory.  

 

Once Sunpaw’s wound was thoroughly coated in green goop, Rabbitpaw hobbled over to the nearest puddle and rinsed out her mouth the best she could. Then she stomped around in it to clean off her paws. Once she got back to ShadeClan, she was marching her butt straight over to Bluemoon and Rainpaw and thanking them for putting up with this sort of thing. 

 

“Thanks,” Sunpaw told her again, this time actually looking her in the eye. 

 

Rabbitpaw’s ears felt hot. “I mean, you got me out of Littlefang dragging me back to camp by the scruff of my neck, so…”

 

“Who, that twig? I could have eaten him whole and still have room for a snack,” Sunpaw scoffed, getting to her feet and shaking off the debris that clung to her belly fur. “Let’s keep going, I want to see what’s on the other side of this ridge.”

 

_ Same old Sunpaw, _ Rabbitpaw thought, but somehow she couldn’t bring herself to feel the usual amount of resentment. 

 

They kept heading uphill, occasionally halting to wait up for Lola, who was older and not in great shape. Rabbitpaw was impressed by how the housecat never acted embarrassed by her lack of physical strength. She dealt with it like Rabbitpaw had seen Puddlefoot deal with his kits: patiently, with understanding and compromise. This continued until they made it to the top of the ridge, with Sunpaw reaching it first. 

 

_ “Oh,” _ she breathed. 

 

“What is it?” Rabbitpaw picked up the pace, wondering what could have gotten such a reaction out of the usually stoic molly. Ignoring the soreness building up in her legs, she forced herself to scramble her way up, only pausing to hiss when she grabbed onto the wrong rock and broke off the tip of a claw. 

 

She immediately saw what Sunpaw was referring to. 

 

Before them was an enormous lake, clear and still enough to almost perfectly reflect the night sky. Moonlight shone off the water in little sparks of white-silver, almost like it was glowing from within. A beautiful pine forest surrounded the lake in swaths of deep green. Beyond it all, snow-capped mountains rose higher than Rabbitpaw ever thought possible, shining almost as brightly as the stars themselves. Even the clouds seemed to be in awe of the place; not the littlest puff of gray dared to come between the great valley and the heavens. 

 

Lola’s winded breathing from beside Rabbitpaw snapped her out of her stupor. “Why aren’t we- oh,  _ wow.” _

 

“I never even knew a place like this could exist outside of StarClan,” Rabbitpaw wondered. “It’s incredible.”

 

“Tomorrow night I’m getting in that water,” Sunpaw stated. Her tone left no room for an argument, but for the first time Rabbitpaw was in total agreement. Even  _ she  _ might put her paws in, if the water was shallow enough. 

 

Lola was the first one to scoot on down the other side of the valley. Sunpaw followed eagerly, and Rabbitpaw brought up the rear, unwilling to take her eyes off the amazing view until she absolutely had to. 

 

The stone that led down to the forest was a lot smoother than on the other side, and the chilled surface felt like the Guides themselves had come down to soothe her cracked, aching paws. How Lola, who had lived in a house and comfortable garden for so long, managed to keep walking like everything was fine was totally beyond her. Rabbitpaw could see the little specks of blood where the housecat had stepped shining in the light of the moon. She knew her own weren’t much better. 

 

“Keep your ears open and noses to the ground, you two. We don’t know who lives here,” Lola called back. 

 

“Look at how there isn’t a lot of brush and other small plants. That means a high population of plant-eating animals are in the area.” Sunpaw ambled over to a sapling and sniffed at its shredded trunk. “I think an elk ate this hemlock. I’ve never seen elk on TideClan territory, but Eaglestar showed me what a plant looks like when it’s been eaten at by one.”

 

“Huh.” Rabbitpaw never would have thought that Sunpaw would be interested in that kind of stuff. Maybe there was more going on in that giant head of hers than just moping and thinking about fighting after all. 

 

The softest rustle of leaves nearby caught Rabbitpaw’s attention, but before she even had time to point it out a black-and-white blur raced by, close enough for her to feel the breeze. It crashed into a blackberry bush, where the noise had come from. Scuffling ensued and quickly ended with a tiny squeal of pain. 

 

Lola popped out of the bush, eyes wide with surprise and delight. In her mouth was a plump brown mouse. 

 

“You did it!” Sunpaw shouted, all but bouncing over to her. “No claws, and you still caught prey! Yes!”

 

Rabbitpaw was both happy for Lola and a bit jealous. “How did you do that? I thought you didn’t know how to hunt!”

 

“Sunpaw taught me a little while you went to find yarrow,” Lola admitted, dropping the mouse. It was bigger than the ones she’d seen in the prey pile back home. 

 

“I’ll teach you tomorrow,” the golden molly promised. 

 

A jolt of excitement chased away a bit of the fatigue that had begun to set in. “That sounds awesome. Should we keep going?”

 

Sunpaw dipped her head in agreement. “Let’s just get to somewhere where there’s a bit more cover before we stop for the day.”

 

She hadn’t realized how long they had been going for until she saw the eastern sky beginning to lighten through the trees. A few songbirds began their music to greet the new day. The forest was more beautiful now that they were actually travelling through it, with plants already flowering and morning dew sparkling on every pine needle and blade of grass. Spring had come early to this valley, like all of the life stored beneath the Earth couldn’t have waited a single moment longer. 

 

Just as sunshine flooded down their part of the valley, they came across a short cliff that overlooked the sky-blue lake. Rabbitpaw had never seen water that color. Hopefully, it would still be safe to drink. 

 

A hollow beneath a great cedar tree was unanimously agreed upon as their den, as it was both large enough for all three of them and free from the smells of any other animal. Almost groaning in relief, Rabbitpaw all but slithered down into it and collapsed next to Sunpaw. She heard Lola do the same with a happy grunt. 

 

Her eyes slid shut of their own accord and she fell into a dreamless slumber. 

 

<>

 

_ “...paw... Rabbitpaw. Hey.” _

 

The deep, sweet voice in her ear sounded like the sea, the rush of saltwater over solid ground and the churning of currents deep below the surface. It was the sound that brought Rabbitpaw back to the waking world, gentle as a feather in the breeze. She sighed into it and let the moss of her nest draw her further in. 

 

_ “Wake up.” _

 

Mm, did she have to? She was so comfortable. Maybe if she tried hard enough, she could keep the sea-voice talking. 

 

_ “Rabbitpaw.” _

 

_ Yes, that’s my name. Don’t wear it out.  _

 

Something bopped her nose. With an unhappy grumble, she tried to roll away from it, but then the unwelcome intruder started nosing her sides and head. 

 

“Le’ me alo’,” she got out, flailing a paw around and hoping it would hit the cause of all her suffering. 

 

“Rabbitpaw! Sweet StarClan, are you  _ dead?” _

 

Oh, right. 

 

Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Rabbitpaw turned to squint over her shoulder. “Only on the inside.”

 

Sunpaw exhaled sharply and put a paw over her muzzle to muffle the sound of laughter. 

 

She couldn’t help the grin spreading over her face. “So that’s the way to your heart, huh? Morbid humor?”

 

“I suppose it is. I’m surprised you even like that kind of stuff,” Sunpaw huffed. The evening sun colored the sky orange and red behind her, with the first couple of stars coming out of the light. 

 

“One of my parents is Shadestar, former rogue and mercenary. I grew up on ‘that stuff’.” Rabbitpaw yawned hard enough to make her ears pop. Then, she noticed the den was one cat short. “Where’s Lola?”

 

“She’s around here somewhere. Woke me up as soon as the sun started going down so she could go hunt.”

 

“Guess you  _ can _ teach an old cat new tricks.”

 

“Pfft. Don’t let her hear you say that. C’mon, I said I’m going to teach you how to hunt today, so get your tiny ass up.”

 

Rabbitpaw stuck her tongue out at Sunpaw’s retreating form but obeyed nonetheless, excited all over again. “I’m not that tiny. You’re just freakishly huge.”

 

“How long until you stop growing?” the TideClan apprentice asked, smirking down at her with an air of superiority. They had made it to a sandy clearing not too far away from their den up on the cliff, perfect for practicing in. 

 

“Six more moons! I’ll be tall, like my parents,” Rabbitpaw insisted. 

 

“Well, I won’t be done growing for  _ four more season cycles.” _

 

“Okay, that’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one! You’re almost as tall as Eaglestar!”

 

“He’s not done growing, either.”

 

“He’s an adult!”

 

“A  _ young _ adult. Big cats like us take a long time to reach full size. Just ask Lola, she’ll tell you I’m telling the truth,” Sunpaw said, puffing out her chest with pride. 

 

“You know what? I think I will. Now, teach me how to hunt,” Rabbitpaw ordered, leaning up so they were almost nose-to-nose. She could see all the different flecks of color in Sunpaw’s eyes, dark amber to bright gold. They would get lighter with time, just as a kitten’s irises changed from blue to whatever hue they would be as an older cat. 

 

“As you wish,  _ princess,” _ came the reply, taunting her. Rabbitpaw just grinned back. 

That had been her nickname back in ShadeClan, affectionately given to her by the lovely Fernface, her old mentor. 

 

Then, the big molly leaned away and dropped into a crouch. “Okay, do this.”

 

Eyeing her form, Rabbitpaw lowered herself to the forest floor, belly fur brushing the pine needles and paws tucked under her shoulders. She thought she did pretty good, or at least until Sunpaw’s tail came around to smack her rear end. 

 

“Get your rear end out of the sky. You look like a duck.”

 

“Oh, whoops.” Rabbitpaw leveled out her hindquarters. “Like this?”

 

“Hm, I suppose that could work. Now, pull yourself forward, and watch where you’re stepping. Try to stay as quiet as possible.” As a demonstration, Sunpaw slunk forward across the clearing. Despite her size, the big molly made no noise at all, even when her bushy tail swept across the sand as she turned to face Rabbitpaw. 

 

_ Alright. Think quiet thoughts.  _

 

With that, Rabbitpaw stalked. 

 

She felt like she was kicking up too much sand as she went, and she tried not to wince. Great, she probably looked stupid. Maybe teaching herself wasn’t such a bad idea after all. 

 

The other end of the clearing couldn’t come fast enough, so she decided to alleviate some of the awkwardness she felt by dramatically flopping down on her back and giving Sunpaw the saddest kitty-eyes she could muster. “Okay, be honest. How bad was it?”

 

Sunpaw just stared down at her. “What? Are you being serious?”

 

“Uh, yeah?”

 

“... Rabbitpaw, that was some  _ really _ good stalking, especially for a first-timer. You started off a little wobbly, but by the end you had it down perfectly,” Sunpaw retorted, looking absolutely baffled. 

 

“Wait… really?” Was Sunpaw messing with her?

 

“Yes! Do it again.”

 

She did it again, and as it turned out, she wasn’t half bad at stalking. Sunpaw had her practice a few more times, with lunging as if to pounce at the end of each exercise. Every bit of her body was already aching from all the traveling the three of them had been doing, and by the time Sunpaw let her up to stretch Rabbitpaw felt like roadkill. 

 

Of course, Sunpaw wasn’t even out of breath. “Go sharpen your claws on that big pine over there until your heart rate is back to normal. Remember to scratch at an angle, like this.” 

 

It was only then that she figured out Sunpaw didn’t just have big feet as she lifted up a front paw to demonstrate. An extra dewclaw glinted white in the dusk, long and wickedly sharp. 

 

Rabbitpaw had never seen anything like it. “You have an extra toe!”

 

“Hm?” Sunpaw examined her paw disinterestedly. “Sure do. Lots of TideClan cats have extra toes.”

 

“Doesn’t it… I dunno, get in the way?” she asked. 

 

“Not at all. It’s said that a sea cat with many toes can swim faster and catch more fish,” Sunpaw boasted. 

 

“Is that true?”

 

“Come down to the lake with me and see.” With a smirk, the large molly turned and trotted off downhill, feathery tail fur streaming in the breeze. Interest piqued, Rabbitpaw galloped after her. 

 

The walk to the beach wasn’t that long, and so Rabbitpaw wasn’t worried about Lola not being able to find them if she needed to. She could easily just follow their scent down to the lake. 

 

Just like when they first crested the valley, both apprentices stopped to take in the beauty of the water as they stepped out from the forest. Starlight twinkled back at Rabbitpaw from the still surface, outshining the last of the setting sun’s rays. On the other side of the lake, a loon called and was promptly answered by its mate. The first spring crickets chirped cheerfully in the tall reeds. 

 

As if pulled in by some otherwordly force, Sunpaw bounded across the sand and slipped into the water. Ripples spread out from the disturbance in soundless little waves. Like she had been in the forest, Rabbitpaw was amazed by how casual Sunpaw was about water, as if it was something every cat did. This time was different, though. 

 

Now, Sunpaw was actually  _ swimming.  _

 

Entranced, Rabbitpaw leapt up onto the driftwood that jutted out over the shallows to get a better look. The TideClan apprentice was using her front paws to pull herself forward, all six toes splayed out to catch the water in the webbing that connected each one. Her back legs acted like a counterweight as Sunpaw swung herself around to swim under the driftwood. 

 

Rabbitpaw couldn’t stop herself from gasping when Sunpaw did something totally horrifying: she rolled forward and went  _ under _ the surface, every last bit of her. Sunpaw lashed her tail like a fish and picked up speed again, ears flat against her skull. Frightened, the small tabby turned to keep Sunpaw in her sights, but before she could call out in alarm the pale she-cat disappeared from view. 

 

_ Where’d she go? _ Rabbitpaw’s heart pounded in her chest. Was Sunpaw  _ drowning? _ Was she going to have to go find Lola? Would the housecat be able to do anything?

 

The still reflection of the twilight sky shattered into countless pieces by a massive head breaking through it. Sunpaw grinned up at her, the shell of a snail clamped firmly in her teeth. 

 

“Sunpaw, you scared me! You went  _ underwater!” _ Rabbitpaw yowled. 

 

Sunpaw cocked her head, the triumph on her face replaced by confusion. “Why would I be drowning?” 

 

“You. Went. Underwater!” she squawked, jabbing a claw at the offending cat. 

 

“Yes? I can ‘old my breath for much longer than that,” Sunpaw mumbled, voice muffled by the shell in her mouth. 

 

_ I’m going to lose my mind.  _ “This is madness. You TideClanners are all mad.”

 

Sunpaw made a noise that probably meant  _ that’s fair _ and swam to shore. Carefully picking her way across the driftwood, Rabbitpaw did the same, only letting herself relax when all four paws were on solid ground. 

 

She was about to ask if the snail was edible when she saw Sunpaw examining the brown of the shell, brows furrowed in concern. 

 

“What is it?” She peered down at the thing, noticing weird white scratches all along the spiral. Surely that wasn’t what Sunpaw was looking at. 

 

That turned out to be exactly the case. “Look at these markings, Rabbitpaw. They were put here on purpose by something.”

 

“What?” she asked, dumbfounded. Looking closer, Rabbitpaw saw a circle surrounded by little dots, almost like…

 

“The night sky,” they said in unison. 

 

“I’ve seen something like this before,” Sunpaw told her. “There were symbols like these on a conch shell I found in the ocean. There were some jagged lines like these-” she pointed to the sharp zig-zags. “And a sort of squiggly line like that.” 

 

Rabbitpaw followed her claw to the strange marking. Something about the shell and its symbols gave her the sensation of something crawling up her spine. It was like she was looking at something very familiar, except it was completely different than anything she had seen before. 

 

“Let’s get Lola to look at it,” she suggested. 

 

Sunpaw nodded, looking like her mind was somewhere else. “Good idea. Can you carry it back for me?”

 

Without waiting for a response, the large molly was flying back down the beach and into the water. Rabbitpaw watched in surprise as she chased something to and fro along the space where the sand met the lake. Silver droplets and golden fur glowed in the light of the rising moon, reminding Rabbitpaw of Sandstar’s ghostly form. She shivered. 

 

A loud splash, and Sunpaw raised her head, a good-sized fish wriggling in her jaws. The glint of happiness was gone from her amber eyes, but Rabbitpaw could see the pride in her gait as she shook herself off and left the shallows. 

 

Together, they headed back to the hollow tree, Sunpaw with her fish and Rabbitpaw with the snail shell. The night forest sang quietly around them, tentative. On edge. She didn’t hear the loons call again after that. It was beautiful, though, Rabbitpaw admitted, enjoying the sight of every perfect leaf and smell and star through the foliage. The Nine Guides themselves could have made their home here and she wouldn’t be shocked. It was very, very beautiful. 

 

Too beautiful. 

 


	12. Chapter 12

“I don’t know what it is either. Sorry, girls.”

 

Sunpaw glanced over to Rabbitpaw with a sigh, wondering if this was StarClan playing a trick on them. She couldn’t think of any particular spirit who wished ill upon them, though. Perhaps one of ShadeClan’s Guides was behind all this?

 

Judging by the look in Rabbitpaw’s hazel eyes, she was probably thinking the same thing. 

 

They had brought the weird snail shell to Lola to see if the older cat could make sense of it. Of course, she had no idea where to even begin with the symbols, much less what it might have to do with their situation. Sunpaw knew that Lola wasn’t religious, and the fact that she had stuck it out with her and Rabbitpaw on this dangerous journey was a miracle by itself. If the housecat had chosen to turn back at any point Sunpaw wouldn’t have blamed her at all. 

 

Lola eyed her and Rabbitpaw before pushing a lemming she caught towards them. “Here. I know you’re still hungry.”

 

“But-”

 

“No ‘buts’! You both are still growing. I already ate a squirrel earlier.”

 

Rabbitpaw’s eyes lit up, and Sunpaw groaned when she immediately knew what the short tabby was about to ask. It blew her mind, though, that the most outlandish thing the ShadeClan apprentice found about her was her growth rate. For whatever reason, that made her feel better, even if Rabbitpaw was already used to cats like Sunpaw. It made her feel almost…  normal. 

 

“Lola, how long until we stop growing?” Rabbitpaw asked sweetly, tearing off a little piece of thigh and swallowing it. She glanced up at Sunpaw and blinked slowly. 

 

“We all continue to grow throughout our lives, Rabbitpaw. It’s what makes us people,” Lola told her, cleaning an already spotless white paw. 

 

“No, no. Like, physically.”

 

“Oh,  _ that _ kind of growing. Well, it depends. I stopped at around one season cycle, and it looks like you should too, if that’s what you’re asking.”

 

“So, one season cycle for us cats?” Rabbitpaw pestered. 

 

Sunpaw dragged a paw down her face and decided to stop all the beating around the bush. “Lola, she doesn’t believe that cats like me and Eaglestar can keep growing for more than one season cycle.”

 

“Oh!” Lola chuckled. “Sorry, Rabbitpaw, but I’ve been around long enough to see those TideClan kits get bigger for winters on end. Different kinds of cats, different kinds of bodies.”

 

_ Indeed, _ Sunpaw thought. She suddenly felt rather brave. 

 

“What? But we’re all the same species!” 

 

“We are. You remember Biscuit, right? His ears aren’t like ours, but he’s still a cat. A Scottish Fold Cat, to be precise.”

 

“Yeah! I like Biscuit.”

 

Lola beamed. “Some cats have strange ears, or eyes. Many don’t have claws anymore. A few keep growing well into adulthood. Some don’t have a tail.”

 

The tips of Rabbitpaw’s ears flushed.  _ “Oh. _ I think I get it now.”

 

“One of your parents switches genders regularly, and it’s the growing that tripped you up?” Sunpaw joked. Then, her brain caught up with her mouth, and she had to keep herself from flinching away. 

 

Rabbitpaw scoffed. “Gender is just something somebody came up with as an excuse to put people into different life roles. Being transgender is just what happens sometimes, like being born a tabby or a tortoiseshell _. _ Growing for like,  _ five _ season cycles is just freaky.”

 

Sunpaw swallowed back the dryness in her throat. “Really? It just… happens? You’re saying it’s normal, right?”

 

Both Rabbitpaw and Lola turned to look at her, Lola concerned and Rabbitpaw puzzled. She felt her pulse began to race. 

 

“Uh, wouldn’t you know that more than me? When you were born, everybody thought you were a tom, but you’re actually a molly, right?” Rabbitpaw questioned. 

 

“I mean, whenever I would ask Otterscratch about it he’d just say to beat up anybody who had a problem with me. I didn’t ever know…” she trailed off, suddenly hot and cold all over.  _ StarClan, just strike me down now.  _

 

Rabbitpaw’s befuddlement turned to shock before her eyes. “You mean you  _ never  _ knew about cats like you?” 

 

The lighthearted mood in the hollow drained like a puddle during a hot summer day. For a moment that lasted moons, none of them spoke. 

 

Lola shut her eyes, suddenly looking every heartbeat of her eight season cycles alive. “Sunpaw, you don’t have to answer this, but… this is why you left, isn’t it? Something was wrong back home.”

 

A thick knot of grief welled up in Sunpaw’s throat and threatened to choke her. The world around her blurred in and out of focus. 

 

“Yes.”

 

Rabbitpaw lunged to her feet with bared fangs and a bristling pelt. “Who hurt you? I’ll help you hurt them back!”

 

“Rabbitpaw-”

 

“It’s okay, Lola,” Sunpaw said quickly. “I think I understand now.”

 

“What do you understand?” Lola asked, confused but gentle. Slowly, as if anticipating an attack, Rabbitpaw laid back down with her claws still unsheathed. The little tabby glared at the moss in front of her like it had personally offended all of ShadeClan’s ancestors. 

 

“You both have been trying to reach out to me so we can form a better team. I know I’m not a nice cat, but I don’t think I really understood how shoving other people away can hurt them just as much as it hurts me until now,” Sunpaw got out. “Lola, I’m sorry I keep pushing you so fast. I can see your paws, so don’t think you can hide it.”

 

Lola winced, pulling her paws closer to her chest, but Rabbitpaw caught one just in time. When she flipped it over, the leather of the pad was worn, cracked, and oozing pus.

 

“I’ve been treating it, don’t worry,” the housecat promised. 

 

“You should have said something! I could have helped you put yarrow on it!” Rabbitpaw whimpered. The young molly looked older all of the sudden, as if Lola’s pain hurt her too. 

 

Lola just shook her head. “I’m sorry, sweetie, I really am. I can’t let you touch any open wound on me.”

 

Well,  _ that _ was concerning. “Why not?”

 

“I’m sick.” She looked up at Sunpaw with sorrowful golden eyes. “Have been for a long time, actually.”

 

Now Sunpaw felt even more terrible. She really was a bitch, wasn’t she? This whole time, she’d been treating the older cat like a spoiled  _ pet,  _ not a person with a disability. 

 

Lola must have sensed what she was thinking, because her tail flipped to her other side in annoyance. “Hush, you. If you think a little quest with a pair of kits is the hardest thing I’ve been through, you’ve got another thing coming!”

 

The anger wasn’t directed at Sunpaw or Rabbitpaw, but at herself. 

 

“We’ll hunt for you tomorrow. Staying an extra night won’t kill anybody,” Sunpaw decided. “This valley might be the last peaceful place we stay at before we reach the mountains.” 

 

Rabbitpaw tensed up, but before Sunpaw could ask her what was wrong she just shook herself, as if trying to clear her mind. 

 

“As you command, team leader,” Lola agreed, pink nose twitching in amusement. “What else were you going to say?”

 

Sunpaw heaved a breath and turned back to Rabbitpaw. “Rabbitpaw, I’m sorry I treated you like a spoiled brat. I was so jealous of the perfect life I thought you had that I lashed out and made it even worse.”

 

“Hey, I’m not just a spoiled brat. I’m  _ the  _ spoiled brat,” Rabbitpaw laughed. 

 

For the first time in awhile, Sunpaw smiled, and it was real. The crushing grip of vulnerability eased from her heart, and in its place was faint scars from healing. It was like training, she realized with a jolt. You have to hurt to get stronger. 

 

Rabbitpaw cleared her throat and crossed her paws, and Sunpaw was briefly reminded of how Eaglestar held himself as clan leader. He had told her once about how in colonies, their leaders were often queens, who were then succeeded by their daughters. Shadestar’s cats might act like a clan now, but she doubted that any of the traditions they deemed important would go away anytime soon, nor should they. 

 

_ Am I looking at the future leader of ShadeClan? _

 

“I think it’s time for a story to make everybody feel better,” said Rabbitpaw. “The story of how cats, the People of the Night, came to be.”

 

Lola’s ears pricked. Sunpaw leaned in as well, eager to finally learn about the deities Rabbitpaw held in such high regard. 

 

“Long, long ago, longer than any cat could ever hope to imagine, there was Earth, the Sky, and the Stars. And in the stars, two gods were born: Felinus, the first tomcat, who was black as shadow but spotted with little specks of light, just like the night sky. Beside him came Mafelest, the first queen, ruddy-and-black with forest green eyes as if the Earth wove itself into her being. It was indeed her that found the world that would become our home, but when they descended from the heavens to announce themselves, they found that wherever they looked was overrun with monsters!”

 

Lola made a face. “They weren’t littermates, were they?”

 

“No, ‘cause they’re gods and they came from the stars!” Rabbitpaw insisted, shoving against Lola’s shoulder.  _ “Anyways. _ Felinus and Mafelest, who were definitely  _ not _ related, took pity on the broken Earth and decided to help the other creatures reclaim their home. First, they traveled the lands in search of those who were able and willing to fight. Not a moon after they began this journey, Felinus met a pack of wolves in a forest that had not yet been touched by the monsters. Somehow, the wolves had managed to defend their home thus far, but their numbers were growing and the forest would not be able to hold them all forever.”

 

_ Ugh. _ Sunpaw felt a nervous jolt in her belly at the mention of such beasts. Every TideClan cat knew of the late Nightstar’s untimely death at the fangs of a wolf with the foaming sickness. Wolves were smart and social, but they were evil to the bone, capable of killing a cat with one bite. 

 

Rabbitpaw continued with her story, not noticing Sunpaw’s discomfort. “The leaders of the pack were Lord River-Shadow and Lady Artemisia. They were eager to listen when Felinus and Mafelest said they had a solution to all of their problems, but when the cat gods told them of their plan to unite all Earthly creatures to drive out the monsters they got angry.”

 

“Because wolves are awful,” Sunpaw growled. 

 

“Because Lord River-Shadow and Lady Artemisia, while loving and fair to their own people, looked down upon prey animals as nothing more than food to fill their bellies.” Rabbitpaw stuck her tongue out at Sunpaw. “Everybody has flaws, even great rulers. Felinus begged the wolf lords to reconsider, but Mafelest was having none of it. Staring into their eyes, the first queen marched right up to them and called them both  _ cowards!” _

 

Lola gasped and covered her muzzle with her paws. 

 

“Felinus was sure the wolves would try to tear his mate apart, and so he raced over to stand beside Mafelest. Mafelest, thankfully, wasn’t in any danger, because she was yelling at the wolves for being selfish. Lord River-Shadow and Lady Artemisia had just birthed a new litter, you see, and the fact that they weren’t thinking of their children’s future and safety enraged Mafelest. She told the wolves to stand with them and all of their allies they made thus far, or be considered their enemy. When the monsters finally overrun your forest, she scolded, it will be your children who pay the ultimate price. I know mine will not!”

 

“That’s one way to do a pregnancy reveal,” Sunpaw muttered. 

 

“Sure is! Felinus was overjoyed and terrified. One by one, the rest of the wolves came forward and announced their support of the cat gods. When they saw what their pack wanted, Lord River-Shadow finally agreed that supporting the rest of animalkind was in everybody’s best interests. Lady Artemisia relented as well, mostly out of admiration for Malefest’s courage to protect children that weren’t even her own. The cats and wolves left the forest at sundown to meet up with the rest of the alliance.” Rabbitpaw grinned, glancing back and forth between Sunpaw and Lola. 

 

“It took a whole season cycle of planning, training, and making sure people weren’t killing each other, but at last Felinus and Mafelest decided that they were as ready as they would ever be. All of the animals of Earth journeyed to the home of the monsters on a night when the moon was full.  _ Everybody _ came, from the biggest bear to the littlest mouse and everybody in-between. Sparrows flew alongside eagles, rabbits and foxes sparred together to hone their skills, lions and deer set aside old grudges and shared their stories-”

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait,” Sunpaw interrupted, a little confused. “If predator animals weren’t eating prey animals, how was nobody starving?”

 

“Sunpaw. It’s. A. Legend,” Rabbitpaw explained through gritted teeth. 

 

Sunpaw took that as her cue to shut up. 

 

“At the end of their long journey, they arrived at a huge cave, one so deep it seemed to go into the Earth forever and dark enough that even the keenest eyes were useless. Even the bats, who can see with their ears, couldn’t seem to find their way. Many wanted to give up and turn around when they found that out.” Rabbitpaw paused to take a deep breath. “It was then that Mafelest had to retreat to the mouth of the cave to give birth. Three kittens were born that fateful night, who immediately sprung forth as grown adults to lead the charge. You see, up until then, cats had no whiskers. The first litter of Mafelest and Felinus were born with them so that every cat after would be able to find their way through even the blackest shadows. It was then that we truly became the People of the Night.”

 

“Did no other animals have whiskers?” Lola asked. 

 

“Nope! Only cats. Because we are the heavens’ most favorite creation,” Rabbitpaw explained proudly. “The trio are known as the  _ Celestres Magna.  _ The eldest-born, Stellanstra, was said to be the most beautiful of all queens, a calico with evening-blue eyes. She is the representation of the grace and power all cats are born with. The middle-born was named Bellum. Most agree that he was a gigantic golden tabby, but some say he was ginger from all of the fire burning in his mane. Bellum is who to call upon in battle, when your claws are worn down and you can barely manage the strength to take another step. The youngest of the three was a lithe black molly with green eyes, and her name is Errat. It is because of her that we have our cleverness and pride. She is arrogance and mischief and chaos. The first thing she did was to start taunting the monsters watching the animals from deeper within the cave, much to the dismay of everybody else.”

 

Lola giggled. 

 

“It was the leader of the monsters that responded to Errant’s mockery. It has no name, because It is not worthy of one, and even if It did history would have been sure to erase the name from memory. It’s appearance is also left up to interpretation, simply because of how horrible It was to even look at.”

 

Rabbitpaw’s voice dropped into a low growl. “The thing stalked forward, kicking aside It’s own soldiers to do so. With a snarl that curdled even the bravest lion’s blood, It told the animals that their innards would be sprayed across the stone of the cave, that It’s soldiers’ nests would be lined with their pelts, that the young of every species would be killed first and their parents forced to watch. As It spoke, the visions came alive in all of their heads. Those who were not brave enough died on the spot.”

 

The blood pounding in Sunpaw’s ears began to speed up. This was  _ way _ better than any other story she’d been told before. 

 

“Just as Mafelest and Felinus were sure the others would flee, a deafening howl filled the cave, a song of vengeance for those who had died, and hope for those who dared to take a stand against evil. Lord River-Shadow and Lady Artemisia charged the leader of the monsters and sank their fangs into It’s throat. Courage restored, the rest followed suit and attacked with everything they had.” Another pause to take a breath. “The battle waged for three days and three nights. Many died, and even more were injured. But as the moon set on the dawn of the fourth day, the leader of the monsters was slain, and It’s soldiers and followers hunted down and killed. Some escaped, but that’s a story for another day.”

 

“Who killed It?” Sunpaw demanded. 

 

“Nobody really knows. Most agree that It was just beaten to death by the wolves and the cat gods,” Rabbitpaw told her. Hazel eyes glinted in the moonlight. “But after the battle, all were praised for their efforts and sacrifice. Felinus and Mafelest rewarded the creatures of the land with whiskers like their childrens’, because, uh… something about not being able to see the future but it’s okay to just feel your way through it? That’s what my parents told me, anyways.”

 

“You know, I kind of like that,” Lola mused, tilting her head to the side. 

 

Sunpaw scooted closer to Rabbitpaw. “So what happened after that?”

 

Rabbitpaw stared off into the distance, thoughtful. “Well, the alliance between all animals broke apart so the world could go back to normal, and Felinus, Mafelest, and their children made their home in a beautiful forest. Of course that was only the beginning, because only five out of the Nine were alive at that point…”

 

The three of them lapsed into silence, but Sunpaw was completely comfortable for the first time since she left the nursery. Outside of the hollow, the world was strange and frightening, full of things she wasn’t ready to face. But in here, surrounded by her two new friends, something told her soul that everything was going to be okay. 

 

“We should make this a routine,” she decided. “Every time we open up about ourselves, one of us tells a cool story.”

 

Lola perked up. “That’s a lovely idea, Sunpaw!” 

 

Rabbitpaw had already fallen back asleep, but Sunpaw was pretty sure the little tabby would be fine with their arrangement. 

 

Outside, the moon shone brightly in the cloudless sky. 

 

“I’m going back for another fish,” Sunpaw grunted, standing up to stretch. “Too nice of a night to let it go to waste. Wish I knew how to make fish oil like Bluemoon does…”

 

Lola yawned and flopped over on her side. “Mm, I’m just fine, sweetie. Go have fun.”

 

“I will!”

  
  



	13. Chapter 13

Pinepaw was having a horrible evening. 

 

In fact, he was pretty sure the entire clan was having a horrible evening, even if nobody was talking about it. Otterscratch was off leading a search party again, leaving the rest of the clan to shelter in the cave and wait. The rain that had begun to fall sometime during the day showed no signs of stopping, and the storm had turned the sea into a churning mass of gray waves and bone-white foam. Until Blossompelt gave the all-clear, there would be no more fishing. 

 

Said queen was busy grooming Aukletflight’s flank, with a dull-eyed Shadowstep nearby. Another ice-shard of pain shot through Pinepaw’s heart when he saw them. He had stopped counting the number of times he almost broke down crying when he remembered what had happened to the pair, to all of TideClan. 

 

The night after Sunpaw disappeared, Flameflash had found Smokepaw’s mangled body in the training clearing. One of his closest friends, Briarpaw and Nightpaw’s sister, was dead. 

 

“But she was just going to meet up for border patrol,” Briarpaw kept telling anyone who would listen. “She wasn’t even supposed to be anywhere near the clearing.”

 

Nightpaw had yet to say anything. 

 

Upon further investigation, Eggfur determined that Smokepaw had been attacked at the forest’s edge, not a tree’s length away from she patrol she was supposed to be on, and killed on the spot before being dragged away to the clearing. That had just made everything worse, as every cat on that patrol seemed to be blaming themselves for not hearing anything. Eggfur had done her best to convince Aukletflight and Shadowstep that their daughter’s death had been quick, due to the small amount of blood left at the scene of the crime, but the elder’s words held no comfort. 

 

As for Sunpaw, well. For all anybody knew, the big molly had just disappeared off the face of the Earth. Batpaw and Beetlepaw stuck even closer to their mother after that. Their little family looked broken without Sunpaw lurking around nearby. Pinepaw knew that Spikeclaw and Sunpaw had some tension over Sunpaw’s… situation, but whatever was going down between the two didn’t seem to matter anymore as Spikeclaw, ever the pillar of unyielding strength, started making more frequent trips to the forest in search for her wayward daughter. 

 

All of that occurred less than a quarter-moon ago. 

 

Thunder boomed again, vibrating deep in Pinepaw’s chest. He looked up to see Eaglestar padding towards him, dark green eyes focused on something an unimaginable distance away. He looked much older than he had even a moon ago. 

 

Their gazes met, and something in Eaglestar’s face softened just a little. “Hello, son. What a storm, huh?”

 

“Yeah,” he mumbled. 

 

“Want to make a trip to the ShadeClan border with me? I know you were already on dawn patrol, but-”

 

“No, I wanna come,” Pinepaw said quickly. He was on his feet and bouncing around Eaglestar within the same breath. No lies were being told, because if he didn’t get out of this depressing cave sooner rather than later he was going to take a flying leap off the cliff. 

 

Eaglestar smiled, and Pinepaw felt a prickle of triumph in his belly. “Thank you, Pinepaw. Let’s go get your sisters and another warrior.”

 

Softstep ended up insisting on coming along, saying that a little family trip might be fun. All Pinepaw could do in response to that was to just roll his eyes. Yeah, he loved his father, but there was no part of a stealth mission through a thunderstorm in these circumstances that would even come  _ close  _ to being fun. 

 

Spottedpaw, as usual, was more forthcoming with her thoughts and feelings. “How do you even know Shadestar’s gonna be there? Aren’t you worried that ShadeClan blames us for what happened to Skyflower?”

 

“They don’t.”

 

“... They don’t?”

 

The sorrow and fatigue drained away from Eaglestar, replaced with a deadly seriousness Pinepaw was entirely unused to seeing in his good-natured uncle. “Whether any of them will admit it or not, ShadeClan knows more about these demon-creatures than we do.”

 

The hike up to the forest’s edge was much shorter than Pinepaw would have liked. On his right, Dawnpaw sheathed and unsheathed her claws. Softstep and Spottedpaw took up position on Eaglestar’s left, with Spottedpaw shielding Softstep’s bad side. 

 

“Until we get to the border, no talking unless it’s an emergency. Eyes, ears, and nose open at all times. Got it?” Eaglestar asked. 

 

Pinepaw murmured his assent, along with his sisters and father, and they were off. 

 

It took everything in him to not jump at every little shadow and rustling leaf. All of the other animals had long since taken shelter from the storm, leaving the five of them alone. No hawks called to each other from the treetops. There were no deer in the undergrowth to watch them pass with strangely intelligent eyes. 

 

He met Spottedpaw’s eyes and let his mane spike up a little. She did the same, and when Pinepaw felt Dawnpaw’s tail smack his he looked over to see the torbie make a face at him. It wasn’t her  _ ha-ha-you’re-in-trouble-face, _ either, more of a  _ oh-StarClan-why-are-we-doing-this  _ with a side of  _ holy-shit-we-might-die-tonight.  _

 

Eaglestar must have smelled the fear-scent coming off him in waves, because he gently knocked Pinepaw’s shoulder with his tail. Pinepaw tried to envision himself being brave like the big dark tabby; that was not afraid to  _ be  _ afraid. 

 

_ Fear is perfectly natural. It’s healthy. Any cat who says they’re not afraid of anything is either a liar or a monster, _ Shadowstep had once told him. 

 

Pinepaw did his best to keep those words in his head, but by the time the scent of TideClan’s borders reached his nose he was back to being a nervous mess. The rain began to come down even harder, making visibility worse and long-distance hearing difficult. An ambush would be kitten’s play in this kind of weather. 

 

Thunder crashed again just as he stepped over the border into no-cat’s land, followed by another lightning strike. Silhouetted in the harsh white flash ahead were several lean forms, all but one crouching underneath the ferns for shelter. 

 

Pinepaw, his sisters, and Softstep bowed as Shadestar approached, but the clan leader barely seemed to notice that they were even there. 

 

“Please tell me you have my daughter with you again,” Shadestar rasped, staring up at Eaglestar with empty hazel eyes. 

 

_ Oh, no.  _

 

“I do not. I suppose you wouldn’t have my apprentice, Sunpaw, with you?” Eaglestar sat down heavily, not even flinching at the cold water accumulating in puddles on the forest floor. 

 

“Then Littlefang was telling the truth after all.”

 

Eaglestar blinked. “The truth?”

 

“Five nights ago, Littlefang found Rabbitpaw and Sunpaw together in no-cat’s land. He said my daughter was convinced that she was supposed to go stop the  _ jinor _ from attacking the clans. That it was StarClan who told her to do so.” Shadestar’s ears pinned back in a rage. “Are these the spirits who you say benevolently guide your clan, Eaglestar?”

 

Eaglestar lunged to his feet. “Why was I not informed of this until now?!”

 

“We tracked their scent-trail as far as we could. Upon returning to my clan, I learned that another warrior of mine had been killed. His name was Oaktail. My son found him by the river,” Shadestar hissed. 

 

“Did you manage to locate the mon-the  _ jinor?” _ Eaglestar demanded, tail still lashing. 

 

“No. Many are afraid to so much as leave camp.”

 

“Then I see no other option but to escort Bluemoon and Rainpaw to the Mooncave to see what they can find out. There must be a reason why-”

 

Shadestar snarled so loud Dawnpaw jumped and tripped over a tree root. Pinepaw could do nothing but stare in horror.  _ “No! _ Those ghosts are the reason my  _ daughter _ is off on some suicide mission! Have your mate do as he pleases, but I will not let Rainpaw see StarClan again for as long as I live!”

 

“Shadestar, if StarClan truly is the problem, which I  _ strongly _ doubt, then we must confront them-”

 

“StarClan has blinded you to reality!”

 

“Was it not one of your brothers who gave you a life at your leadership ceremony? How could you even  _ suggest _ that?” 

 

_ “Shut. Up.” _

 

A new voice cut into the furious argument, so cold and wrathful Pinepaw immediately shrunk back against Softstep. Both Eaglestar and Shadestar whipped around, eyes wide with shock, and were faced with a tiny tortoiseshell dragging herself along the ground with her two front paws. 

 

Her size nor her crippled back legs did anything to lessen the anger burning in her amber-gold eyes, bright like fire. “I don’t know about you, Eaglestar, sir, but  _ you-” _ She pointed to Shadestar.  _ “You  _ need to shut your stupid mouth about  _ everything.” _

 

“Newtpaw, what in the name of the Nine Guides-” Shadestar began, still dumbfounded at just being told to  _ shut up, _ but the tortoiseshell called Newtpaw spat at her leader’s feet. Pinepaw wondered if she was out of her mind. 

 

“You’re so full of it you’d even blame our own ancestors before yourself about Rabbitpaw running away. The way you treated my sister, your  _ daughter  _ after she came home safely after a terrifying experience says it all,  _ Father.  _ You exiled her back to the nursery for a full moon and kept her away from the rest of the clan, even me and Acornpaw!” Newtpaw screeched, pointing an accusing claw at Shadestar. 

 

_ Is this really happening? Newtpaw is Shadestar’s daughter? Shadestar basically exiled Rabbitpaw for- _

 

His whirlwind thoughts were cut out by Shadestar crouching down so that he was level with Newtpaw, hissing frantically. “Newtpaw, this is not the place-!”

“You humiliated Rabbitpaw in front of the whole clan. Maybe if I do something similar to you, it’ll help you see what a horrible parent you’ve been,” Newtpaw retorted. “I don’t know Sunpaw, but I do know my sister. If she’s truly run away it’s because of  _ you,  _ not because of some weird spirit dreams, even if they were important!”

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Pinepaw saw Eaglestar stiffen. 

 

“She was just a kit! She still is! And you and Papa are the ones who drove her off.” 

 

Behind Newtpaw, Pinepaw watched the ShadeClan warriors shrink back, guilt and sadness written all over faces. 

 

“So yeah! Rabbitpaw might never come home. So now I have to ask you,” Newtpaw growled, standing up as far as she could go. She was nearly nose-to-nose with Shadestar now.  _ “Was it worth it?” _

 

Shadestar didn’t respond. He didn’t even move. He just crouched there, still as stone, even as Newtpaw dragged herself away and reared up on her front legs. 

 

_ “Well?” _ She snapped. 

 

Pinepaw never got to see Shadestar answer. 

 

A scream so loud it made his ears ring split the air, familiar and terrible. One of the ShadeClan warriors yowled in shock before being cut off. The body of a cat was thrown against a tree with such force that his body was impaled on the spike of a broken branch. Shadestar broke out of his daze to charge the commotion with a shriek, tail bushed and hackles raised as far as they would go. 

 

“Ambush!” Somebody shouted, nearly drowned out by another skull-crushing scream. Something long and blacker than void struck at Shadestar and missed by a hair. 

 

In some twisted way, it was a relief that something  _ actually happened. _ The paranoia he’d been feeling since the moment he’d left the cave wasn’t just him losing his mind. He’d felt the exact same way after he’d tried to slit his mother’s throat with just his claws, except instead of seeing a monster  _ inside _ of the queen formerly known as Redbriar, it was out in the real world. 

 

Pinepaw flung himself at whatever moved next that wasn’t a cat. He found himself sinking his fangs into something scaley and cold, like a snake, except this thing was almost as big around as he was. 

 

The snake-demon lashed around and nearly sent Pinepaw flying, and he bit in harder. If he could just cut to this thing’s spine, it would be all over-

 

CRACK. 

 

This time, he really did fly. Something in his mouth tore free. He hit the ground so hard his chest felt funny from getting the air knocked out of it. When he opened his eyes, spots of colors Pinepaw had never even seen before danced around his vision. 

 

Something trickled down his throat. Pinepaw turned over on his side to spit up blood, and when he did the upper right part of his mouth stung like countless scratches. 

 

_ Get up! _ Still gasping for breath, drooling blood like a dying animal, Pinepaw staggered to all fours and scrambled back up the hill he was thrown down. 

 

He made it just in time to see Shadestar bite down on the snake-demon’s upper neck. It snapped and writhed, squealing in rage, and then it just…

 

Disappeared. 

 

Pinepaw began to worry he had a concussion when he saw the demon simply shatter into shadows and melt into the ground. Within the next couple of breaths he took, it was like it had never been there in the first place. Just as it had been a few short moments ago, it was just TideClan and ShadeClan together between clan ground. 

 

_ Wait, didn’t Sunpaw and Spikeclaw say the thing they fought melted into the ground? _

 

Softstep turned to look at him, and his jaw dropped. “Pinepaw!”

 

“What?” he tried to say, but all that came out was “Wa’gh?”

Another mouthful of blood dribbled out when he tried to speak, and Pinepaw had to spit again to clear his throat. 

 

The sound of somebody throwing up got his attention, followed by the enormity of the situation hitting him like a car. Ignoring the soreness in every muscle in his body, he galloped over to see what was going on and if he could help, and then instantly wished he hadn’t. 

 

Shadestar had climbed up the tree one of his warriors had been thrown into, despite a massive gash separating the dark fur on his shoulder. The warrior was hanging from the branch impaling his torso, eyes wide open and jaws agape, blood dripping down his paws and tail. Despite the massive amount of pain he had to be in, Shadestar was doing everything he could to dislodge the cat from the branch. Every push from the tortoiseshell sent fresh rivulets of blood running down the dead cat’s body. 

 

Pinepaw turned away and released the contents of his stomach. When he came up for air, he saw Dawnpaw nod to him, bits of goo stuck to her muzzle. 

 

Well, that solved the question of who else had puked around the battleground. 

 

He felt a little better when he saw Spottedpaw and Eaglestar, both limping but otherwise fine, help a ShadeClan torbie to her feet. Newtpaw, obviously shaken, let herself be carried by a gray tabby Pinepaw recognized as Puddlefoot. 

 

“Shadestar, you have to leave him,” a gray tom called. “We’ll come back for him later.”

 

“He was my friend,” Shadestar muttered, still shoving at the dead cat’s shoulder. 

 

Pinepaw looked up at Softstep, who looked like he wanted to clean his eyes out with saltwater. “Should… should we help?”

 

“No.” His father shook his head, before turning away and pressing his face to Dawnpaw’s shoulder. He only looked up when Eaglestar and Spottedpaw approached. 

 

“We’re going home,” was all Eaglestar said. Pinepaw watched, surprised, as the big dark tabby immediately set a swift pace for the cliffside. Something was going on in the clan leader’s head, and it wouldn’t be put to rest until he had completed whatever he had set his sights on. 

 

He had to run to catch up with Eaglestar. “Uncle, what’s goin’ on?”

 

Eaglestar glanced back at him, worried green eyes flicking to his bloody jaw. “I want you to see Bluemoon the instant we get back. Get Softstep and your sisters in as well.”

 

“But-”

 

“No buts. If what I think has happened actually happened…” Something dark and ugly twisted his uncle’s snarl into something vengeful. “Then there is going to be  _ hell _ to pay.”

 


	14. Chapter 14

The moon rose and fell two more times in the valley, and it was unsettling how easily their little group fell into a new routine. Well, unsettling to Rabbitpaw, at least. 

 

Lola would wake up first to go hunting and soak her paws in the lake. Sunpaw would rise with the moon and wake up Rabbitpaw soon after. She’d stumble after the TideClan apprentice as they warmed up for training, and from then until moon-high she’d either be running, hunting, climbing, beating on Sunpaw, or getting beat  _ up _ by Sunpaw. The latter was much more common. 

 

“Don’t hold your ground! Keep moving,  _ always _ keep moving,” Sunpaw barked, rearing back to slap Rabbitpaw away. “Your opponent should always be adjusting themselves while they try to attack you.”

 

Rabbitpaw wheezed in response and dodged a punch. While Sunpaw’s chest and belly were open, she lunged and slammed against the other molly with all her might. Sunpaw staggered a bit, much to her satisfaction, and she leapt away to try again. 

 

Unfortunately, she didn’t see the other paw coming around to meet her until the blow knocked her right off balance. She landed in the hard dirt with a grunt and flipped to her feet. Muscles aching and out of breath, Rabbitpaw darted around to Sunpaw’s other side to try for a belly strike, but was met with a long, bushy tail to the face. She spluttered and spat out the fur that had gotten in her mouth, and then she was flat on her back with a giant paw pressing down on her chest. 

 

Sunpaw nodded. “Better.”

 

“Ungh,” Rabbitpaw groaned, not getting up even when Sunpaw let go of her. “Sunpaw, this is  _ impossible. _ I’m not going to win against you.”

 

“Of course not. You’ve just started learning how to fight.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “That and I’m a third your size.”

 

“I have a sister not much taller than you, and she’s beaten me a few times. You’ll get there,” Sunpaw promised. She rasped her tongue over a paw and dragged it over her face a few times to clean it. It helped that she didn’t look annoyed, or even a little bored, but Rabbitpaw was still put out. 

 

“I can’t afford to be a liability in a fight. I don’t have the time other apprentices have to learn these things,” she protested. 

 

“You’re not a liability, trust me. Catching two squirrels and a vole in one morning does not make you a liability,” was Sunpaw’s retort. 

 

“Am I just whiny?”

 

“A little. But you keep learning, so it’s fine.”

 

“Mm.” Rabbitpaw stared up at the stars and wondered if StarClan or the Guides were watching them. “They definitely know we’re gone now.”

 

Sunpaw didn’t ask who she was referring to. “Definitely.”

 

“Were you close to your sister?”

 

“Sisters,” Sunpaw corrected. “Me, Batpaw, and Beetlepaw.”

 

“Oh yeah. The two skinny dark ones?”

 

“The two skinny dark ones,” she confirmed. “And yes, I know that we look nothing alike, no, I wasn’t adopted, yes, we’re from the same litter.”

 

Rabbitpaw snorted. 

 

“To answer your question… no. I mean, I love them. They’re great cats. But… they chose Spikeclaw over me. They didn’t know how she treated me, of course, so it isn’t their fault,” Sunpaw muttered. 

 

“Spikeclaw?”

 

“My mother. Great warrior. Can burn the pelt off anyone with one insult. Treats my sisters like gifts from StarClan.”

 

Everything finally clicked together. “And she’s why you wanted to leave.”

 

“You would think that she’d understand, coming from a colony with all kinds of cats in it. She was a part of ShadeClan before it was ShadeClan.”

 

Rabbitpaw was dumbfounded. “Did she live with her head under a rock? What about Shadestar, or Puddlefoot, or Frog? Isn’t your deputy a transgender tom?”

 

Sunpaw huffed and flopped over on her side. “Who knows what goes on in that little pointy head of hers. I don’t have to deal with her anymore, so why should I care?”

 

“What about when we get back?”

 

Sunpaw didn’t meet Rabbitpaw’s gaze. “Well-”

 

A cheerful chirp cut her off. Rabbitpaw rolled over to see Lola prancing down to the hollow with a crow in her jaws. 

 

“Holy  _ StarClan, _ Lola, that’s  _ huge,” _ Sunpaw exclaimed, shooting to her feet and galloping over. Wondering how the heck Lola had managed to capture and kill a bird that big, Rabbitpaw quickly followed. 

 

“Like it? It practically fell right into my paws,” Lola boasted. Pride was a good look on the housecat, Rabbitpaw decided. 

 

“Are you gonna share?”

 

Lola chuckled and pushed the crow over to Sunpaw, who growled in delight and started tearing on a wing. She took the breast for herself, blood turning white fur red in the moonlight. Black feathers stuck to Sunpaw’s face as if parts of her had fallen out of the world as Rabbitpaw knew it. 

 

She backed away with a tingle running up her back.

 

Sunpaw looked back at her curiously, licking her chops. “Don’t you want some?”

 

“I, ah… not hungry yet,” she managed. “I think I’ll run down to the lake and back and hunt after.”

 

“Suit yourself.” As usual, Sunpaw’s impassive face betrayed no emotion, but Rabbitpaw didn’t miss how the TideClan apprentice stared after her as she galloped off. 

 

Her paws carried her down the now well-used path to the beach without her commanding them to. The chilly lake breeze washed over her as she stepped out into the sand, the scent of water and snow, cold and lifeless and nothing like the salt-warm wind of the ocean back home. 

 

It was beautiful. 

 

_ What is wrong with me? _ Rabbitpaw looked up to the moon, now full and huge in the night sky. It was so bright that it outshone all of the stars around it, and she wondered if StarClan could still see her and the others. The Nine Guides would watch over her, she knew, but what about Sunpaw and Lola? 

 

A twig snapped somewhere behind her. She was on her feet in a heartbeat, blood pounding through her ears like thunder. 

 

The valley stood still in time, and then one long, muscular leg stepped out from the woods’ edge. A hoof twice the size of her whole head pressed soundlessly into the sand before lifting back up again. The rest of the beast soon followed, as huge as a mountain, with antlers so great and broad they seemed to scrape the heavens as their owner slowly plodded down to the shore. A deep huff of breath escaped its enormous muzzle as soon as one hoof splashed into the water, and it bent down to drink from the perfect blue water. 

 

One of Hunter’s stories came back to her then; the tale of a race of giants that wandered the northern forests of the world. Graceful and with antlers, like deer, they were said to be a sign of prosperity for the lucky few to lay eyes on one. 

 

_ Moose, _ they were called. 

 

“Holy shit,” she breathed. For a moment, Rabbitpaw forgot all her worries. It was just her and this truly incredible creature, the stuff of legends. 

 

One brown-furred ear flicked back at her. Water dripped from its mouth, droplets glinting silver. The moose turned to look at her, apparently not realizing it was not alone on the beach. 

 

But it couldn’t look at her, because where its eyes should have been, there were only empty sockets that leaked black liquid. 

 

An unseen force squeezed her throat and choked the air from her chest. Rabbitpaw froze as if made of ice. 

  
  


Sightless sockets locked into her gaze, and she knew that the beast could see her even without eyes. A maggot fell out of the left hole and plopped into the sand. 

 

Trying to not stare at the gray mass behind the sockets, the stuff Rabbitpaw knew was its brain, she slowly backed away. The moose- if that’s what the thing still was- followed her movement with uncanny precision. When it made no move to follow her, she took off as fast as she possibly could back up the trail to the clearing. 

 

_ No. No. Nononononononono- _

 

“Lola! Sunpaw!” Her voice came out in nothing more than a frantic wheeze. The ground and the sky tried to switch places.  _ “Sunpaw!” _

 

The thunder of paws shook the ground. Just as she fell, a broad head pressed against her side to help her stay upright. Rabbitpaw gasped, fear flooding every single part of her being, until she took in the smell of the sea and realized who it was. 

 

She had never been more relieved to see those bright amber eyes. 

 

“Whoa, Rabbitpaw! What’s going on?” Sunpaw demanded, lowering her to the ground even as she fought to stay upright. 

 

“We need to leave. This place is cursed, and we need to leave,  _ now,” _ she choked. 

 

_ “What? _ What are you talking about?” 

 

“I saw a moose down by the lake, except it wasn’t a moose, it had no eyes and it had this black liquid oozing out of its sockets and it kept staring at me even though it couldn’t-”

 

Sunpaw reached out to clasp her shoulder. “Rabbitpaw, everything is going to be okay. Take deep breaths. You’re having a panic attack.”

 

More footsteps rumbled in the dirt underneath Rabbitpaw’s head, and she almost shrieked before a familiar black-and-white face popped into her field of view, brows furrowed worriedly. 

 

“Lola-”

 

“Panic attack,” Sunpaw butted in. “The stress of the journey, no doubt.”

 

Her heart sank when she realized Sunpaw didn’t believe her. “No! I mean, yes, but I know what I saw! There’s something wrong here, and we need to go.”

 

“Rabbitpaw, I don’t know much about the real reason why you two need to be on this quest, but it’s obvious that it’s giving you a lot of anxiety,” Lola soothed. “We’re safe.”

 

The housecat’s voice was concerned and motherly and should have released the fear in her, but it didn’t. It became even worse. 

 

“When’s the last time you had a dream? When did you last see an animal that couldn’t be hunted for prey? How is it that Lola and I never miss a catch when we’ve only just begun to learn how to hunt? Why haven’t we had a cloudy night yet?  _ Think,  _ you two! The real world isn’t supposed to be this perfect!” she yowled. 

 

Sunpaw and Lola stiffened. 

 

Every single hair on her pelt rose in unison. It took a bit for Rabbitpaw to put together the missing piece, but when she did, all four of her limbs went numb. 

 

The forest had gone completely silent. 

 

Slowly, throwing in every bit of strength she had to overcome the terror that kept trying to freeze her body, she got to her feet. Behind her, Lola shifted, making the silver trinket on her collar jingle. The noise was nearly deafening in the oppressive quiet of the night. Above them, the full moon shone the brightest Rabbitpaw had ever seen it, and yet she felt like she could barely see in the darkness. 

 

So she shut her eyes. 

 

“Everybody, start walking towards the other end of the valley. Don’t run. Don’t look too closely at anything.” 

 

Wordlessly, her companions lurched forward. Both of them seemed shocked out of their senses, as if coming out of a vivid nightmare. Rabbitpaw waited for Sunpaw to start giving orders, but when none came, she made herself take the lead. 

 

She marched back down the trail that led to the lake, Lola on her right and Sunpaw on her left. Maybe if they got out of the trees, they would have an easier time finding the best way out of the valley. Anything that tried to get the drop their group would have to come out into the open, too, so that they would be harder to surprise. 

 

_ Just keep going.  _

 

If it was dark in the forest, then it was absolutely blinding out on the beach. The moonlight sparkling on the water’s surface was so bright it felt like shards of ice were being forced into Rabbitpaw’s head. She winced and looked away, skull throbbing in pain. 

 

Shielding her eyes with one trembling paw, she squinted out across the valley, towards the snow-capped mountains that waited for them beyond. Were they even real? 

 

Rabbitpaw forced herself to think about anything else. There was no time for doubt. This time, it was up to her to save her friends. 

 

A burst of fire inside her sent feeling back into her fear-frozen limbs.  _ My friends.  _

 

She raised one front paw in one step forward. Same with the other front paw. Do it again but this time with the back legs. Sunpaw and Lola shuffled along beside her, staring straight ahead, matching her pace. 

 

This continued for four or five tree-lengths down the shoreline, with Rabbitpaw carefully picking up the speed to a steady trot. The lake was big, but she forced herself to be patient, to not let her instincts take over. She would only listen to the voice urging her to not look back into the forest or at the water. 

 

Halfway around the beach, a soft breeze blew over her, almost warm in the late-winter chill of the valley. Something like hope sparked in Rabbitpaw’s belly, at least until the wind picked up again. It wasn’t warm anymore. 

 

It was  _ scorching. _ The air burned like flame, yet the patches of snow scattered here and there from the last snowfall seemed totally unaffected.

 

_ I’m going insane, _ Rabbitpaw decided. She blinked furiously to keep her eyes from drying in the heat. Next to her, Lola staggered and almost knocked her over. 

 

“Can you feel it too?” she cried out. 

 

“Yes. It’s so beautiful.” Lola’s voice was strange. Rabbitpaw felt her hackles rise again when she looked over to see Lola staring up into the sky, pupils completely blown out, jaw slack, swaying ever so gently in the burning wind. What she was looking at, the small tabby had no idea, and she had absolutely no intention of finding out. 

 

“So beautiful,” Sunpaw agreed. When Rabbitpaw whipped around, the other apprentice was behaving the same way Lola was, except she was panting furiously. She lifted a paw as she leaned back further, sweat dripping down into the sand. 

 

_ She’s going to overheat and die! _ With a frenzied screech, Rabbitpaw lunged at Sunpaw with everything she had in her. The big molly wasn’t expecting an attack, but even when she hit the ground she didn’t fight back. Rabbitpaw leapt over her to grab her scruff and start pulling. If she could just get Sunpaw to the lake-!

 

Lola’s eyes burned holes into Rabbitpaw’s fur as she turned to face her. “Why would you attack Sunpaw? She was Seeing.”

 

“She’s going to burn alive in this heat! Help me, Lola!” Rabbitpaw begged. 

 

“She will not burn if she Sees.”

 

Even as the housecat spoke, she started to pant. She was running out of time as well, so Rabbitpaw dug in and yanked Sunpaw down the shore, one paw-width at a time. Her whole body shook with the effort. 

 

“Look at the sky, Rabbitpaw! Look at the moon!” Lola wailed. 

 

Cold lake-water lapped at her back paws, quite possibly the best thing she’d ever felt, the sweetest relief from the invisible inferno around the three of them. With one final pull that seemed to almost pull all of the teeth from her mouth, Rabbitpaw hauled Sunpaw into the shallows. 

 

The effect was instantaneous. Sunpaw broke away with a yell, flailing around in the water before getting her feet underneath her. She stood, looking around like she had no idea where she was, which Rabbitpaw supposed she didn’t. Before she could look at the sky again, 

 

Rabbitpaw grabbed her face between her paws and forced her to look into her eyes. “Sunpaw, listen to me. We’re on our way out of the valley, and you were just in some kind of trance because you looked at the sky- _ don’t _ look at the sky!”

 

“Wha-? Rabbitpaw?” Was all she could say before Lola wailed again, deep and haunting. Rabbitpaw turned to see her stumbling towards them, eyes now fully black, drooling uncontrollably from both sides of her mouth. 

 

“Lola?!” Sunpaw yelped. 

 

“That’s not Lola anymore!” 

 

The thing that used to be their friend lashed out at Sunpaw, who instinctively dodged back. One white paw got wet when a wave rolled in, and the thing hissed before backing away from the edge of the water. 

 

“It doesn’t like water,” Rabbitpaw realized. “Sunpaw, the next time it attacks, drag in Lola’s body and knock her out!”

 

Sunpaw’s ears flattened. “What if I drown her on accident?”

 

“We don’t have a choice!”

 

Not-Lola lunged once more, this time going for Rabbitpaw. Shrieking, Rabbitpaw grabbed at it and pushed it farther into the lake. A vicious snarl just about blew her ears back. Not-Lola crouched as if to spring, but before it could attack a large white-gold paw slammed down on its head, and it collapsed into the shallows with a splash. 

 

Sunpaw looked horrified, but quickly grabbed Lola’s scruff and dragged her out. The housecat was out cold, not even twitching as Rabbitpaw helped haul her over Sunpaw’s back. 

 

“Don’t look up, just keep moving,” she ordered. 

 

The TideClan apprentice nodded, still in shock, and followed Rabbitpaw the rest of the way around the lake. Something about the water must have broken the spell, because the hot blasts of wind were gone, and with it the overwhelming heat. Thankfully, nothing else attacked them. Rabbitpaw knew that they were still being watched, so she didn’t dare let down her guard just yet. 

 

A path between the trees led up to the ridge that separated the valley from the rest of the world, well-worn as if somebody- or  _ something, _ lived nearby. No scent gave away the presence of a possible enemy. Side by side, Rabbitpaw and Sunpaw hiked up the path together. Neither of them looked back until they reached the top. 

 

The lush forest ended there, and from then on into the mountains were scraggly woods and large patches of wet-dead grass where the snow melted. Thunder rumbled in the distance, the first storm of the new season cycle, a promise of new life to the worn lands below. In the east, the horizon was pink with the coming dawn. 

 

Rabbitpaw glanced behind her, and then did a double-take at the full moon that shone heavily in the late night sky, except it definitely wasn’t the moon. It was the eyes and spinning fire-rings the size of the entire valley that gave it away. 

 

Slowly, all of the eyes blinked, and then they were simply not there anymore. 

 

She looked up at Sunpaw. “Did we just pass some sort of test?”

 

Sunpaw met her gaze, looking both completely done with the world and on the verge of a mental breakdown. “Honestly, I really  _ don’t care.” _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everybody gangsta until you and your teammates have to survive the meddling of an ancient eldritch being


	15. Chapter 15

The moment they arrived back at the camp, Eaglestar split the air with a roar so loud Pinepaw nearly fled back into the forest in terror. 

 

_ “SPIKECLAW.” _

 

Dawnpaw leapt her own height into the air. Spottedpaw and Softstep backed away, manes fluffed up. By the speaking-rock, where Otterscratch’s returning hunting party was gathered, every single cat whipped around in shock as their normally sweet-tempered leader prowled over and leapt up to address the clan. 

 

There was no need to make an official summons; everybody had heard him. Even Thistlefeather, who was deaf, was wide-eyed as he trailed after Blossompelt. Fireflower, Dustypool, and Brightclaw all stared up at Eaglestar in complete befuddlement. 

 

As silent as snow, every single warrior, apprentice, and elder was suddenly gathered before the speaking-rock. 

 

Bluemoon and Otterscratch leapt up to join Eaglestar. The healer immediately started demanding to know what was going on, with Otterscratch right beside him. Eaglestar leaned over and muttered something to the two other toms. Pinepaw didn’t make out what his uncle said, but both healer and deputy reluctantly settled down in their places beside him. 

 

The crowd parted, and Spikeclaw padded down the space where no other cat wanted to be. Peering out from behind Aukletflight were Batpaw and Beetlepaw, watching their mother apprehensively as she marched off to her fate. 

 

The black queen looked like she had just woken up from a nap. “Eaglestar? The  _ shit _ is goin’ on out here?”

 

“You tell me.” Eaglestar’s voice was quiet and cold. “I had an interesting revelation during my meeting with Shadestar earlier this evening. As it turns out, Sunpaw lives, and so does Rabbitpaw, who also disappeared about a quarter-moon ago.”

 

Every single pair of ears pricked up in excitement, and Batpaw and Beetlepaw shrieked with joy. 

 

“They left together to put a stop to the attacks, as was apparently the will of StarClan. I’m not sure about the validity of this claim, but as soon as this meeting ends Bluemoon will be escorted to the Mooncave to confirm this with our ancestors,” Eaglestar continued. 

 

The tentative whispers of hope were squashed as quickly as they had formed. 

 

“Two apprentices! Against those monsters?” Aukletflight shrieked. Nightpaw and Briarpaw hid between her and Shadowstep. 

 

“We need to go after them!” Acornfall agreed. Brightclaw began to pace. The elders Eggfur and Thunderfoot looked at each other and nodded. 

 

Eaglestar raised a paw, and the clan quieted down. 

 

“I wish I could say that Rabbitpaw only left because StarClan asked it of her, as well as Sunpaw, but it turns out that was not the case. She left because she was punished horribly for going after a hare on her first outing as an apprentice and getting lost. Shadestar made a grave mistake in his parenting, and Rabbitpaw felt like she had to leave because of it.”

 

Spikeclaw looked totally lost. “Okay, so what does this have to do with me?”

 

Eaglestar glared down at her. “My revelation was not about how to proceed in dealing with these monsters, the  _ jinor. _ It was about another terrible parent who forced her daughter to leave because her mother insisted  _ she doesn’t even exist!” _

 

His bellowing echoed off the cliff like the thunder of the waves below. The rain, which had begun to slow just before they got to camp, stopped completely. 

 

Pinepaw saw understanding light up Otterscratch’s green eyes in a blaze of fury. 

 

“... You think  _ I _ drove Sunpaw away?” Spikeclaw spluttered, looking like a spirit had come down from StarClan itself to smack her across the face. “Eaglestar, just because my kit’s a little…  _ different _ doesn’t mean I love him any less.”

 

Otterscratch rose to his feet, claws unsheathed, and if Eaglestar hadn’t signaled for him to remain where he was Pinepaw knew he would have tried to kill Spikeclaw. The ginger tom wasn’t sure if he’d try to stop him, either. 

 

Everything from his kithood concerning Sunpaw suddenly made sense. The way she avoided her own family, always sticking to the shadows even when amongst her friends. 

 

Many cats turned to hiss at Spikeclaw, and a low, growling hum started to emanate from Fireflower. Dustypool and Brightclaw leaned away from her, clearly a little frightened of the fearsome queen. 

 

“And how would you express your love to Sunpaw?” Eaglestar asked. 

 

Spikeclaw looked around, as if just realizing that she had just become one of the least popular cats in TideClan. “I… Sunpaw doesn’t… I just wanted him to be happy the way he is! Nobody has to change who they are to be happy!”

 

“Why not?”

 

“We were all born the way we are for a reason, right?”

 

“Oh?” Eaglestar raised a brow before turning to Otterscratch. “What do you think about that, my good friend?”

 

Otterscratch raked his claws over the stone. “I think that those are the words of a cat who never bothered to try and see outside of her own little world.”

 

“Well said, Otterscratch!” Softstep yowled. 

 

A hiss forced itself out from between Spikeclaw’s fangs. “You’re not parents. None of you three up there have any idea what it’s like to raise kits, so in my  _ humble _ opinion, it’s you who can’t see outside their own points of view!”

 

“Then I will speak.”

 

Pinepaw watched in apprehension as Fireflower finally rose to stand before Spikeclaw. He felt the entire clan hold its breath, waiting for the next move. The fury in Otterscratch’s eyes faded away, only to be replaced by glee. 

 

Fireflower stared down at the little black queen, entire body perfectly still. “I am a mother, like you. I have no daughters, just as you have no sons. You will be silent!” she barked as Spikeclaw opened her mouth to protest.  _ “You. Will. Be. Silent. _ Spikeclaw, words cannot say how disgusted I am by how you’ve treated your kitten. Not too long ago, when I got the chance to be alone with Sunpaw, I asked her if you have ever hurt her. As in, if you have ever belittled her or made her feel like she was unworthy to be your daughter. Do you know what her answer was?”

 

She leaned in, not giving Spikeclaw the chance to speak. “She said she thought she could take you in a fight if you ever tried to  _ physically abuse her. _ Is that the response of a child who knows that her mother loves her? Are those the words of somebody who is unafraid to be herself?”

 

Pinepaw felt like he was going to throw up again.  _ I could have protected her. I could have stopped Spikeclaw from hurting her.  _

 

Spikeclaw shook her head, stepping away from Fireflower. “You must have… you obviously heard Sunpaw wrong. I’d never give any child of mine a reason to fear me.”

 

“But you did.”

 

“I love  _ all _ of my children!”

 

“Maybe you do.” Fireflower cocked her head, studying the smaller she-cat as if regarding an especially shrimpy piece of prey. “Alas, the way you ‘loved’ Sunpaw drove her away from her home and family.”

 

Otterscratch spoke up again. “Batpaw? Beetlepaw? What do you two have to say about all of this?”

 

Everybody turned to watch the sisters approach the speaking-rock. Neither of them looked at their mother. 

 

“So… you really never believed Sunpaw when she said she’s actually a molly?” Beetlepaw asked. Her tone was completely flat. 

 

Spikeclaw hesitated. 

 

“Answer her!” Batpaw spat. 

 

“I… c’mon. You know what Sunpaw can be like,” Spikeclaw pleaded. She turned around to fully face her remaining daughters. “So maybe I thought he was just doing it for attention. That doesn’t mean I wanted him  _ gone.” _

 

Beetlepaw stepped forward. “Hey. If you call Sunpaw a ‘he’ one more time, I’m gonna take off one of your ears. I’ll let you pick which one.”

 

Spikeclaw jolted back, staring at Beetlepaw as if she had just disowned her. 

 

“Eaglestar, if I may speak?” 

 

Pinepaw glanced around to see Stone-eye hobble up to the front of the clan meeting. The old tom was obviously going to say what was on his mind whether Eaglestar liked it or not, and Eaglestar knew that and dipped his head in agreement. 

 

Stone-eye hopped up to one of the lower rocks to survey his clan with his one good eye. “Now, I won’t pretend to know how a cat can change genders or whatnot. But nature is a fickle mistress, and if she can make a strong angry bastard like our own deputy up there, then who are we to argue with her?”

 

Otterscratch lifted his head proudly. 

 

“But that’s not what I care about. What I care about is that Spikeclaw, through her gods-awful parenting, made one of our most promising apprentices run away! Sunpaw would have been our best fighter as a warrior, and anybody who says otherwise is a fool. Spikeclaw cost us a wonderful young molly. What have you to say for yourself,  _ rogue?” _

 

_ That _ was the argument that finally brought everyone together in agreement. Spottedpaw, Flameflash, and Briarpaw hurled insults at the black queen. Otterscratch flung himself off the speaking-rock to slap Spikeclaw across the face. Even Dustypool turned her back on her clanmate, nose wrinkled up in shame. 

 

“Kit-bleeder!” Pinepaw yelled, enjoying the pain on Spikeclaw’s face as Doetuft and Thornfang jeered at her and nipped at her flanks. Spikeclaw tried to fight back, catching Doetuft on the muzzle, but was quickly overpowered by her sister. Not too far away, Beetlepaw and Batpaw sat down and let it all happen. The sisters’ yellow eyes were full of resentment. 

 

He quickly snapped out of it when he saw Eaglestar and Bluemoon watching the commotion. Both toms looked like they wanted to join in on the fun, but at last Eaglestar yowled for everyone to stop. 

 

_ Why did I like watching everybody beat up my clanmate? Spikeclaw’s a bad person, but still… StarClan, I hope I never get to see something like that ever again.  _

 

Doetuft and Thornfang let Spikeclaw go, and everybody else shut up. Otterscratch took his sweet time circling Spikeclaw before returning to his place beside Eaglestar, bumping Fireflower affectionately along the way. 

 

“Stone-eye makes a valid point. Are you ready to admit that you are in the wrong, Spikeclaw?” Eaglestar questioned. 

 

Spikeclaw’s pale eyes blazed with fury. “Go to hell.”

 

Dawnpaw gasped in horror, but Eaglestar simply shut his eyes for a brief moment. It was only then Pinepaw realized the rain had stopped, as if it was scared away by the force of his uncle’s anger. 

 

“You meant so much to me, Spikeclaw. But you leave me with no choice.”

 

“What-”

 

Eaglestar raised his head to the cloudy sky above. “I call upon my warrior ancestors to banish this cat from the story of TideClan! As of tonight, Spikeclaw is no more. She proved herself unworthy of her clan name when she saw no wrong in the way she treated her daughter. She will not return to clan ground unless it’s with Sunpaw and Rabbitpaw.”

 

“No,” Spikeclaw, no,  _ Spike _ muttered. She slumped down, as if her legs had lost all strength, but forced herself to stand once more. She staggered up to the speaking-rock, looking so pathetic Pinepaw felt cold. “Eaglestar, you were my first friend here-”

 

“Begone!” Otterscratch hissed.  

 

She turned to Snowsky and Aukletflight, only to be met with a bristling Fireflower. The ginger queen lunged and snapped her fangs less than a paw-width away from her former denmate’s face. Lightningstripe, Thornfang, and Brightclaw helped clear a path through the crowd that led to the trail up the cliff. 

 

Doetuft and Acornfall circled around to flank Spike. 

 

Acornfall shoved her forward. “Move.”

 

Spike caught herself, frantically scanning the assembled cats with huge yellow-green eyes. _ “Shadowstep! _ Shadowstep, speak for me, please!”

 

Pinepaw watched as the sleek black tom turned away to press his head against Aukletflight’s shoulder. He had just lost a daughter, and now he was losing his sister. 

 

“Spottedpaw…” Spike begged. 

 

The beautiful tortoiseshell watched impassively as the former warrior was pushed past her. If Pinepaw’s sister was upset about watching her mentor get exiled, she was doing a damn good job of not showing it. 

 

At the end of the path, just before Spike would have to climb up the cliff to get to the forest, two black shadows appeared. Spike’s tufted ears lifted, and she galloped forward to meet them. 

 

“Girls, help me. You can help me, please, I don’t want to leave my family, you’re all I have! We can work through this together!”

 

The once-proud warrior was now a trembling mess. Her daughters were unmoved. 

 

“We don’t want you! We want our sister!” Batpaw screeched. 

 

“Just leave,” Beetlepaw agreed, calmer than Batpaw but even more terrifying. 

 

Pinepaw saw the exact moment Spike lost the last shreds of hope she’d been clinging to. When Batpaw and Beetlepaw parted to let her through, she trudged forward without any further resistance. Nobody else dared to speak. 

 

She climbed halfway up the trail before turning to look back at the TideClan cats. Spike a small cat, but silhouetted against the cliff and sky, she looked no bigger than a newborn kit. The expression that slowly overcame her was anything but. Worriedly, Pinepaw watched as grief turned to anger, and then determination. 

 

The rogue turned and fled. 

 

And that was the last time any of them saw Spike. 

  
  



	16. Chapter 16

“See that outcropping? Head towards it!” 

 

“To the left?”

 

“No, the one by that pine!”

 

To her relief, Sunpaw adjusted her course to head for the ledge of rock that would provide them with a bit of shelter while they waited for the storm to pass. The rain had started coming down not long after the sun came up, followed by dark clouds casting the world back into darkness. Thunder made her teeth chatter in her mouth and her chest hum. Lightning lit up the mountains in blinding flashes of white and silver. It was the wind, however, that proved the most troublesome to deal with, as Rabbitpaw could barely hear Sunpaw speak over the roar of surging air currents through the mountains. 

 

Her pelt was still winter-thick, but it didn’t do much to keep out the rain. She was more worried about Lola, who was still out cold, and Sunpaw, who had definitely been traumatized by what they had just been through. Oddly enough, Rabbitpaw felt alright, if not a little worn out. 

 

The Guides must have been looking out for them, as the outcropping turned out to be deeper than originally expected. She helped Sunpaw get Lola off her back before settling the housecat into the peat. Quickly, the two of them groomed Lola dry before Rabbitpaw helped Sunpaw yank out the knots that had accumulated in her thick fur. 

 

Rabbitpaw barely managed to dry herself off before a wave of exhaustion hit her like a boulder. Head spinning, she all but collapsed into Lola’s side. A weight spread out over her shoulder- one of Sunpaw’s front legs. 

 

She fell asleep to the sound of the raging storm. 

 

<>

 

For the first time in too many days, she dreamed. 

 

Just like her first dream of StarClan, she was on the beach with Sandstar, watching the starry ocean roll in with the tide. Little foam-waves splashed against the bottom of the boulder they were laying on, smelling of salt and sky. 

 

The only difference was the big black-and-white tom sprawled out beside Sandstar. His short pelt was littered with scars, and hard muscle rolled in his shoulders as he propped himself up to look at her. Rabbitpaw froze as strange ice-blue eyes seemed to bore right through her. 

 

“Good work on getting out of that valley, kit,” he rumbled. “The Many-Eyed One isn’t an easy bastard to impress.”

 

It was a moment before she found her voice. “Who  _ was  _ that?”

 

“A god. They’ve been around since this world came to be, maybe even before. Sometimes, if a hero goes on a particularly difficult quest, They will take it upon Themself to see what that hero is truly made of.” The tom said this with all the casualness of somebody discussing the weather. 

 

Sandstar, who Rabbitpaw thought had been asleep, cracked open one green eye. “Talon, you can’t just  _ tell _ people they met a god.”

 

“Oh, whatever. The girl’s tough, she’ll be fine.”

 

The pale ginger queen rolled her eyes and glanced up at Rabbitpaw. “You survived the Many-Eyed One because you balanced instinct with logic. The legends of your kithood stuck with you, and when it counted the most, you remembered the laws of engaging with an immortal. This is why you were chosen, Rabbitpaw.”

 

Rabbitpaw felt like she was going to fall over. “I-I really have no idea what I’m doing.”

 

“And that’s  _ okay,” _ Sandstar insisted. “You will have what it takes, and you will not be alone when the time comes to seal away the monsters.”

 

“Keep heading into the mountains. You’ll know when you’ve found what you’re looking for,” Talon added. His name was familiar, but Rabbitpaw just couldn’t recall who he was. 

 

She took a deep breath. “Okay. Is… Is everybody back home okay?”

 

Sandstar and Talon glanced at each other. 

 

“The clans are strong, but they do not have forever,” Sandstar admitted. 

 

“... Then I will keep going.”

 

Both spirits seemed to like that answer as they nodded to Rabbitpaw. The heavenly world around her began to fade, and she let herself fall back into the land of the living. 

 

<>

 

The first thing she was aware of was the sound of rain against stone. Everything came back to her in one fell swoop: the quest, the valley, their crazy escape. 

 

The second thing she noticed was the familiar scent of Lola flooding her nose, comforting and with the warmth that every creature with a beating heart possessed. Rabbitpaw lifted her head, still blinking sleep out of her eyes. Her friend’s eyes were closed as if unconscious, but the pace of her heartbeat said otherwise, and Rabbitpaw eagerly prodded her shoulder to get her attention. 

 

“Unnnhhh.”

 

“Lola! How are you feeling?”

 

“... Like I just got run over by a car. Lemme sleep.”

 

“No, c’mon, wake up. I need to look you over.”

 

Lola groaned some more, mumbling something about young cats and always needing to be doing something at all times, but relented. Upon being given permission, Rabbitpaw prodded her ribs for any signs of fractures, tested her legs for sprains, and finished with waving a paw in front of the housecat’s face to track her eye movement. She wasn’t a healer, but as far as she could tell Lola didn’t have a concussion. In fact, she seemed perfectly fine.

 

“What do you remember?” Rabbitpaw asked. 

 

Golden eyes squinted. “I had some really strange hallucinations. There were these shadow creatures that jumped into my body, and then there were all of these eyes in the sky… did I have a fever?”

 

_ Oh, Guides, help me. _ “It’s… it’s complicated. I’m not sure how to explain it all, but everything you just described was real. It actually happened.”

 

Lola stared at her. “I… I have a hard time believing that, Rabbitpaw.”

 

The cat she had been just a quarter-moon ago would have been bewildered at Lola’s reluctance to believe that they had encountered a god. Now, Rabbitpaw was having a hard time believing it herself. “Me too.”

 

Behind Lola, Sunpaw curled up into a tighter ball. “Can you two  _ please _ be quiet?”

 

Rabbitpaw gasped and wiggled her way across an increasingly disgruntled Lola. “Sunpaw you’re  _ awaaakkkeee! _ I missed you!”

 

“We were both sleeping,” the big molly complained, but she didn’t try to push Rabbitpaw off her, which she was half-expecting. Sunpaw’s scent was the rush of wind over saltwater, the warmth of midday, a ray of light in the stormy mountains. It shot deep into somewhere behind her belly and filled her head with fog.

 

She nearly jumped right out of the den.  _ What the heck was that?  _

 

“We should probably get moving. The more distance between us and that valley, the better,” Lola decided. “I don’t know what happened back there, but as long as we never have to see it again I’ll be fine.”

 

Eager for an excuse to put some distance between herself and Sunpaw, Rabbitpaw slithered right off the TideClan apprentice and stretched. Her muscles ached from their swift retreat and Sunpaw’s training. Traveling was going to be a real pain, but Lola’s idea about getting away from that damned valley was getting more appealing the more she thought about it. Besides, they were already behind schedule. 

 

_ “The clans are strong, but they do not have forever,” _ Sandstar had told her. 

 

Unfortunately, the rain didn’t let up until well until the sun began to go down. Rabbitpaw was soaked to the skin, but she felt weirdly hot. When they stopped to hunt she took the time to feel her paw pads for a temperature. They were simply warm from exercise, leaving Rabbitpaw confused and frustrated. This was  _ not _ the time to get sick. 

 

She ended up catching a vole, more out of luck than anything else. The critter nearly jumped into her paws after running away from the shadow of a hawk circling overhead. Rabbitpaw took shelter under a half-rotted log until it flew away, more annoyed than scared. 

 

Lola and Sunpaw were waiting for her back at the pine tree they’d agreed to use as their “temporary base of operations,'' as Sunpaw called it. Rabbitpaw didn’t know what most of those words meant, but it was fun watching the TideClan apprentice start to take charge again. 

 

“Did you get lost?” Sunpaw huffed. 

 

_ Ugh, nevermind. I forgot how bossy she can be. _ “Had to hide from a hawk.”

 

“Don’t be rude, Sunpaw,” Lola scolded, smacking the younger cat upside the head. “Anyways, it looks like we’re heading into another forest. We’ll stop when the moon comes up to hunt again.”

 

“Sounds good.” Sunpaw stood up first, not to be outdone, and shook debris out of her thick white mane. Rainwater shimmered in the light than filtered down through the clouds. Her scent washed over Rabbitpaw again, leaving her unsteady on her feet. 

 

<>

 

By the time the first stars shone over the western horizon, Rabbitpaw felt like she could barely walk, as if her own body was rebelling against her. She was so hot she was surprised that steam wasn’t rising off her fur, and she’d become so sensitive to touch that the tabby nearly fell over when she’d accidentally knocked against Lola’s side. 

 

Her mood lightened when Lola’s prediction came true: they were entering a forest. It was rocky and not nearly as lush as ShadeClan territory, but it was enough for Rabbitpaw to feel more at ease. 

 

She hadn’t realized her companions had stopped walking until she bumped into Sunpaw. Sparks flew from the contact and raced in loops underneath the heat of her pelt. With a squeak, Rabbitpaw hopped back, ears flaming in embarrassment. 

 

Sunpaw turned to stare down at her. “Are you alright? You’ve been acting weird.”

 

_ Aw, crap. _ “I’m fine!”

 

Sunpaw just rolled her eyes and took the lead again. “I don’t know if you were listening, but we’re going to stop in that little cave right there.” 

 

She followed Sunpaw to a crevice where two boulders met to form a hollow, sheepish. Lola was watching her, clearly concerned, but Rabbitpaw was more interested in sleep than Talking About Feelings. Upon flinging herself down into the leaves, she squirmed around a little to get comfortable… and couldn’t. 

 

A moment or two later, Sunpaw had enough. 

 

Rabbitpaw yelped as a swift kick to the behind almost sent her flying out of the den. She looked around for the source of the attack and was meant with the furious gleam of pale amber eyes. Lola growled as a warning for Sunpaw to knock it off, and the big golden molly lowered her head before rolling over to go to sleep. 

 

“I’ll just go hunting,” Rabbitpaw muttered before quickly trotting off. A grouchy Sunpaw was just another part of her life now, but a grouchy Lola wasn’t something she ever wanted to become familiar with. 

 

The brisk mountain air felt incredible, sinking into the space between every hair on her coat and filling her chest with the promise of Greenleaf. Small green things were poking up from the ground, spurred forth by the storm that had just passed, as if they had known what to do since the moment they started growing in the ground. 

 

Following the natural trails through the brush left by other animals, she found the droppings of a rabbit and followed its scent to the shelter of a bush. The creature snuffled around in the dirt as she watched it, before it found something it liked and ate it. 

 

Was this seriously the animal Shadestar named her after? It looked kind of stupid, like some higher power had taken the fierce, strong hare and toned it down into a nervous ball of fluff and twitching ears. 

 

Actually, that was probably the reason Rabbitpaw had gotten her name. 

 

She charged the critter with a snarl and swung a paw out as it dodged out of the way. Claws raked through surprisingly soft fur. Twigs crackled underfoot as Rabbitpaw turned with it, never letting it get out of sight. It leapt out of the way and shot off into the night. 

 

Rabbitpaw gave chase until she almost face-planted into a burrow that smelled just liked the damned creature. With a groan, she shredded the leaves underfoot with her front claws before flinging herself down into them. She rolled back and forth in a frenzy, desperate to drive away the itch that had accumulated along her lower spine. 

 

When that didn’t work, the tabby popped up with a jump and crouched against a fallen log just a fox-length away from the rabbit burrow. Nope, that wasn’t it, either.

 

Against her will, a low, frustrated howl bubbled up from her throat. The noise scared her. She needed to do it again. There was something out there that she needed. 

 

_ What the hell is wrong with me? _

 

Leaves and pine needles crunched, drawing closer to her. Rabbitpaw scrabbled away from the sound and hid behind the log. 

 

She never got the chance to panic. “Rabbitpaw?”

 

Relief flooded every single bone in her traitorous body. There was nothing here to be worried about, everything was fine. Everything was fine. 

 

Rabbitpaw peeked over the log to see Sunpaw sitting back on her haunches, looking around worriedly. “Sunpaw?”

 

“I heard you yowl. Are you okay?” Before Rabbitpaw could respond, Sunpaw was somehow  _ right in front of her, _ sniffing her all over. She froze up, the breath caught in her throat. The light of twin amber moons shining down on her sent another wave of fire down her back. 

 

She had to force herself to speak. “I-uh, yeah. Uh, I’m…”

 

“I’m sorry. The valley, I just… you saved all our lives back there, and then you seemed totally fine after, and I don’t know how to help myself or Lola-” Sunpaw was rambling, hackles rising as the TideClan apprentice began to work herself into a panic. 

 

Rabbitpaw stared up at her, at a loss for words but knowing she had to do something to help her friend. As if it grew a mind of its own, she found herself with her paw over Sunpaw’s muzzle, the heat of the other molly’s breath washing over her paw pads. 

 

She flinched back as the sensation traveled down to her lower belly. “Sorry! You’re not,  _ ah,  _ you’re going to be okay, Sunpaw. We passed the Many-Eyed Ones’ test. They won’t bother us again, I think. I’m pretty sure!”

 

“That’s what Sunmist told me!” Sunpaw exclaimed. “The StarClan cat who visited me, her name is Sunmist. We had the same dream!”

 

Rabbitpaw’s head spun every time she breathed in Sunpaw’s scent. Why did she smell so damn good? “T-That’s good, right? When we were in the valley, I never dreamed.”

 

“I don’t know why I didn’t realize something was wrong sooner, I really don’t. All I could think about was how nice it was to just be away from the rest of the world. I…” Sunpaw didn’t meet her eyes. “I didn’t want to leave, Rabbitpaw. That thing, it made me just want to stay in the valley with you-”

 

Rabbitpaw’s heart skipped a beat. 

 

“-and Lola forever. And then I remember looking up at the Many-Eyed One, and I saw Them in Their true form, I guess, and it was awful. It felt like I was burning from the inside out!”

 

“Maybe that’s why the temperature rose so much,” Rabbitpaw wondered, still fixated on Sunpaw’s muzzle. What would happen if she kissed her? 

 

“Was it hot? I can’t remember much. I just feel horrible that you had to save us all by yourself, you faced a god all by yourself, and here I am kicking you out of camp and making fun of you for taking a while during hunts-” 

 

Sunpaw looked so panicked and awkward, her white-gold fur messy from the humidity, and the sound of her ocean-current voice was doing things to her insides. It took everything in Rabbitpaw for her to not pounce on the TideClan apprentice and rub herself all over her. 

 

“... so from now on you can just tell me when I’m being a horrible person. Lola’s already rather good at that, so…” she trailed off again, which Rabbitpaw didn’t notice until she realized Sunpaw was bending down to sniff her again. Every bit of contact had her fighting back gasps. 

 

“You smell different.”

 

“Do I?” 

 

“I thought I smelled something on you earlier, but…” Sunpaw shook her huge head. “Are you sick?”

 

“I-I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. 

 

Sunpaw parted her jaws ever so slightly to taste the air. She blinked once, twice, leaning in so that their whiskers brushed. Rabbitpaw shivered all the way down to her toes. It was awful, it was amazing, and she never wanted it to end. The fire in her belly grew in size until she thought it might consume her. 

 

Something dark ignited in the morning-amber of Sunpaw’s beautiful eyes. It only lasted for a heartbeat, and then they were both reeling back from each other like the fire in Rabbitpaw had burned them both. 

 

Sunpaw looked like she had just stared into the true form of the Many-Eyed One again. “Let’s, uh, get you back to Lola. Maybe she knows what you have.”

 

“Good idea. Yeah. Lola can help,” Rabbitpaw agreed, feeling totally out of breath. 

 

“Can you walk?”

 

“Yep, totally! Let’s go.”

 

The trip back to the boulder-den was short but tense. Rabbitpaw’s maybe-fever was showing no signs of letting up anytime soon, and Sunpaw didn’t say another word even as she walked alongside the tabby, loosely curling her tail around Rabbitpaw’s hindquarters as if shielding her from an imaginary enemy. 

 

Lola was just dragging herself out of the den with a huge yawn when they arrived, bits of leaves and dirt sticking out against the white patches on her pelt. Still obviously half-asleep, the housecat mumbled a greeting before sinking into a stretch. 

 

“I think Rabbitpaw’s sick,” Sunpaw announced. 

 

Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Lola groaned. “Oh, no. Alright, c’mere, sweetie, let me look at you.”

 

Rabbitpaw obliged. Hopefully whatever had effected Sunpaw wouldn’t affect Lola. If Lola didn’t know what was wrong with her, what was she going to do?

 

As it turned out, that wasn’t the case. 

 

The moment Lola leaned in for a sniff, she froze, and then circled Rabbitpaw with her tail wagging in aggravation. 

 

“What’s wrong?” she demanded. 

 

“Rabbitpaw…” Lola sighed and shook her head. “Has anybody given you the growing-up-talk yet?”

 

“The grown-up-talk? Like… where kittens come from?” 

 

“Exactly.”

 

She saw Sunpaw make a face. “Um, I guess? Shadestar told me how it… works…”

 

The look Lola gave her was a perfect mixture of worry, exasperation, and amusement. “Rabbitpaw. You’ve gone into heat.”

 

Shock left her without words once more. 

 

Sunpaw, however, picked up right where she left off. “She’s in  _ what? _ But she’s still so small! She’s not even out of her kitten fluff!”

 

Lola rolled a shoulder like,  _ what can you do. _ “I had a friend whose kit went into heat at four moons. You’re half a season cycle old, right, Rabbitpaw? That’s pretty normal.”

 

“It is?” she asked weakly. 

 

“How can a six-moon old molly be ready to have kittens?” Sunpaw spluttered. 

 

“She isn’t.” Lola turned to Sunpaw with a fierce stare. “Which means we have to be  _ extremely _ careful about running into other cats. Her heat-scent isn’t too bad now, but by tomorrow night this place will stink. Any tomcat nearby will come looking.”

 

“I’m not gonna mate with some cat I don’t even know!” Rabbitpaw squeaked, embarrassed and offended. 

 

Lola glared back at her. “You might not be given a choice.”

 

Something about the way she said it filled Rabbitpaw with fear, even if she didn’t understand what Lola was talking about.  _ What does she mean, not given a choice? _

 

“So we keep moving, and we avoid twoleg colonies,” Sunpaw growled.

 

“Yes. Rabbitpaw, I want you to start covering your waste when you pee or poop. Roll in smelly plants, too, that’ll help cover the scent. Stay nearby at all times. And  _ you.”  _ Lola turned back to Sunpaw, marched right up to her, and jabbed a toe into her chest. “You stay on your best behavior. No funny business, missy!”

 

Sunpaw looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. “I’d never!”

 

“Good.”

 

“Can we go now?” Rabbitpaw begged. Her mind was starting to feed her memories of her and Sunpaw in the forest just a few moments ago, with her out of her mind with the heat and Sunpaw actively trying to astral project herself into another level of reality. How could Rabbitpaw even look her in the eyes after how she had behaved?

 

Unsurprisingly, Sunpaw took the lead, and Lola and Rabbitpaw followed close behind. Now that she was aware of what exactly was happening to her, she could feel every single prickle of sparks along her spine, the nearly-permanent blush darkening the shell of her ears. It was maddening. She wanted to howl until her throat bled. She wanted to be closer to Sunpaw. She wanted to run until she collapsed from exhaustion. 

 

It was Lola gently bumping her shoulder with her own that tore her out of her thoughts. “I know it’s hard, sweetheart. But this is a really special time in your life, you know that? You’re growing up!”

 

“I thought growing up would be more fun than this,” she whimpered. 

 

“We all do. Growing up isn’t fun, but it’s still wonderful in its own way.”

 

“How long will this last?”

 

“A quarter-moon at the most. We’ll be there for you every step of the way.”

 

Lola’s promise relieved some of the tension she carried, but as the moon began its descent through the cloudy night sky, Rabbitpaw couldn’t help but feel that her own changing body was about to become the least of her problems. 

 


End file.
